IMPARȚIALITATE·INTEGRITATE·EFICIENȚĂ
April, 1st, 2026
No. 218/I-36
Press release
Update (April, 1st, 2026):
On 1 April 2026, following the request for pre-trial arrest requested by the anticorruption prosecutors, the judges within Cluj Tribunal ordered the pre-trial arrest measure for a period of 30 days against the defendants ANTON CRISTIAN and R.B.A.
In addition to the press release no 216/I-36 of 31 March 2026, we inform you that the prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate – Cluj Territorial Service have ordered the start of the criminal proceedings and the pretrial detention for 24 hours against the defendants, starting on 31 March 2026:
ANTON CRISTIAN, as Director-General of the Romanian Road Authority (ARR), charged with the offences of:
- taking bribes through repeated acts,
- using, in any way, directly or indirectly, non-advertising information or allowing unauthorized persons access to such information in order to obtain undue benefits through repeated acts,
- setting up an organised criminal group
R.B.A., as managing director of a commercial company, charged with the offences of:
- taking bribe through repeated acts,
- Influence peddling through repeated acts,
- establishing an organized criminal group,
On 1 April 2026, the two defendants will be brought to the Cluj Tribunal with a proposal for a 30-day pre-trial detention.
Moreover, the anticorruption prosecutors ordered the initiation of criminal proceedings and judicial control for a period of 60 days, starting on 31 March 2026, against eight defendants:
B.A., as administrator of a driving school and certifications, charged with the offences of influence peddling through repeated acts and establishing an organized criminal group;
R.N.M., a natural person without special capacity, charged with the offences of complicity in the influence peddling and the establishment of an organised criminal group;
A.B., a natural person without special status, charged with the offence of complicity in influence peddling through repeated acts;
Five natural persons without special status, charged with the offence of setting up an organized criminal group;
Moreover, the anticorruption prosecutors ordered the further continuation of the criminal investigation against the suspects M.A. and D.D.R.I., owners of professional training centers, charged with the offences of influence peddling and the establishment of an organized criminal group.
The prosecutors’ order states that, in the present case, there are data and evidence outlining the following state of facts:
In December 2025, the defendant Anton Cristian, in his capacity as general director of the Romanian Road Authority (RAR), has established an organized criminal group, together with the defendant R.B.A., as managing director of a commercial company and the suspect D.D.R.I., as holder of a professional training center, in order to commit corruption offences, seeking a coordinated action whereby, in exchange of sums of money received as bribes, he would allow the defrauding of the theoretical examinations for obtaining the attestations/certificates of professional training carried out within the RAR (both the computer test and the written test). As leader of the group, the defendant Anton Cristian would have had the following duties:
- He would have coordinated and managed the activity of defrauding the theoretical exams and the computer test, would have kept in touch with R.B.A. and D.D.R.I. and would have received from them the lists of candidates who paid sums of money for defrauding the exam, but also part of the sums of money collected by them from the candidates, would have appointed the other members of the examination committees from the locations chosen by him according to his own interests, would have directed the activity of the group so as to avoid revealing the irregularities, would have decided according to his own interests when he is or is not a party to the examination committee, would have guided R.B.A. and D.D.R.I. to the locations where the committees were controlled by him, would have kept the record of the sums of money received as bribes, would have decided how and where the sums of money collected as bribes would be returned to him;
- As an examiner, it would have allowed the theoretical examination to be defrauded by accepting that certain persons designated by the R.B.A. and/or the D.D.R.I. to solve the computer test instead of the candidates, and by handing over, together with the exam sheets, another sheet with the correct answers to the written test to the candidates who paid sums of money;
- As general director of A.R.R., would have appointed persons approved in the examination committees in the locations where the environment favorable to the defrauding of the respective exams was located.
On 1 and 7 March 2026, during the examinations organized in Arad County, respectively in Bucharest, as a member of the examination committee, the defendant Anton Cristian allegedly received from the defendant R.B.A. the total amount of EUR 60,000 (EUR 30,000 for each examination), in exchange of violating his office duties and allowing the candidates who paid sums of money to fraudulently pass the examination. Specifically, it allowed, instead of the favoured candidates, the computer test to be taken by other persons in R.B.A.’s entourage and also sent the favoured candidates sheets with the correct answers to one of the tests.
In addition, between February and March 2026, as a member of the examination committee, the defendant Anton Cristian received the sum of EUR 34,000 out of a total of EUR 54,800 from R.B.A., in exchange of violating his office duties, in order to ensure the fraudulent promotion of the examinations held in Bucharest (28 February 2026), Arad County (01 March 2026) and Mehedinți County (21 February 2026) by the candidates indicated by R.B.A., who allegedly paid sums of money to fraudulently pass the examination.
In addition, on March 17, 2026, the defendant Anton Cristian accepted the promise of receiving the difference of EUR 20,800 to be paid to him, meaning EUR 5,000 by the suspect D.D.R.I. and EUR 15,800 by the defendant R.B.A.
During the aforementioned examinations, the defendant R.B.A. claimed and received the total amount of at least EUR 113,000 from several candidates, directly or via owners of vocational certification schools, in exchange for the promise that he would intercede with the members of the examination committee so that they would pass the examinations fraudulently, in the above-described manner. For example, at the exam of 21 February 2026 in Mehedinți County, he would have claimed and received the total amount of at least EUR 22,000 from more than 100 candidates, directly or through holders of professional certification schools.
The other defendants or suspects mentioned at the beginning of the press release had different criminal contributions, some of whom subsequently joining the criminal group. Thus, they carried out organizational support activities for the defendant R.B.A., such as the identification of persons interested in fraudulently passing the examination, the provision of instructions of the modus operandi and the organization of candidates at the examination sites. They were also involved in training the candidates concerning the modus operandi, collecting money from them on behalf of the defendant R.B.A., as well as in solving the computer-based test during the exams.
While under judicial control, the eight defendants must comply with a series of obligations, including: to appear whenever they are called to the criminal investigation body, not to leave the territory of Romania without the consent of the D.N.A. prosecutors and not to communicate directly or indirectly, by any means, with the persons mentioned in the judicial control orders.
The eight defendants were made aware that, in the event of a breach in bad faith of their obligations, the measure of judicial review may be replaced by the measure of house arrest or the measure of pre-trial detention.
The ten defendants and the two suspects were informed of their legal status and criminal charges, in accordance with Articles 307 and 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
During the searches mentioned in the press release of 31 March 2025, the amount of approximately EUR 500,000 was found in the premises of the house of the defendant Anton Cristian. Moreover, sums of money and goods totalling approximately EUR 100,000 were identified in the houses of the other defendants, which were seized with a view to order the precautionary seizure measure.
It is noteworthy that the further continuation of criminal proceedings and the initiation of criminal proceedings are stages of the criminal proceedings governed by the Criminal Procedure Code, in the order to establish the procedural framework for the administration of evidence, an activity that under any circumstances cannot defeat the principle of the presumption of innocence.
We would point out that this communication was drawn up in accordance with Article 28(4) of the Guide to good practice on the relationship between the judiciary and the media, approved by Decision No 197/2019 of the Plenum of the Superior Council of Magistracy.
THE INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE