A control by Romania’s Ministry of the Environment has identified luxury and personal goods bought with one of five cards associated with the account of the National Meteorological Administration (ANM). The findings have prompted Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu to call for the agency’s leadership to resign and announce a referral to the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice.
What the control found
The ministry says one of the five cards connected to ANM’s account was used to buy perfume, dresses, pyjamas, handbags, cosmetics, scented candles, high-heeled shoes and a luxury bra costing more than 1,000 lei. The purchases were identified in a control carried out by the Environment Ministry at the meteorological administration. The source reports the control’s findings and the minister’s response; it does not identify the cardholder, the authorisers of individual transactions or any final finding of criminal liability. Those details would be relevant to establishing whether the spending breached internal rules or public-finance law.
Why the card arrangement matters
The case concerns a card-based spending arrangement rather than a conventional tender for goods. Five cards were associated with a single ANM account, allowing transactions to be made directly against that account. Such cards can be used for approved operational purchases, but the control indicates that one card was used for items with an apparently personal or luxury character. The transferable procurement issue is the control framework around the mechanism: who holds each card, what categories are permitted, what evidence is required for a purchase and how transactions are reviewed. The source does not say how those safeguards operated at ANM.
Minister calls for resignation and referral
Diana Buzoianu said ANM spent hundreds of thousands of lei on such goods last year and this year, according to figures she presented. She announced that the matter would be referred to the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice and requested the resignation of ANM’s leadership. The minister warned that, if the leadership did not resign, a meeting would be convened on Monday to decide the legal steps to take. The source also identifies a reaction from ANM’s director, but does not provide its substance. No criminal wrongdoing or personal responsibility has been proven in the supplied material.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Agency | National Meteorological Administration (ANM) |
| Cards linked to the account | Five |
| Card used for the purchases | One of the five |
| Highest-priced item identified | A luxury bra costing more than 1,000 lei |
| Spending period cited by the minister | Last year and this year |
| Proposed referral | Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice |
The leadership should resign today
WHY IT MATTERS
Public bodies using payment cards still need clear spending categories, named authorisation controls and transaction-level review. A card linked to a public account is a purchasing mechanism, not a replacement for procurement governance. The reported case shows why controls must cover low-value or direct card transactions as well as formal tenders.
Reported from digi24.ro, 2026-10-10. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
