Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Indicted The Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff Gen Eugen Badalan

The anti-corruption prosecutora#128;#153;s office officially started to investigate the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Eugen Badalan, according to a press statement Friday.

Gen Badalan was not informed about the counts he was investigated on.

Other 12 current and former officers with the Ministry of Defense are indicted in the case, the statement said without elaborating on the charges.

The preliminary investigation targeted a contract sealed in 2000 between the Army General Staff and Tofan Group, which resulted in the army exchanging 4,000 vehicles for 6,000 tires.

The Ministry of Defense notified the anticorruption prosecutora#128;#153;s office for the damages caused to its coffers by the contract.

The person signing the contract was former Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Mihail Popescu, now social-democrat senator.

Gen Badalan is also under investigation for the terms and conditions of an unrelated procurement contract for military gear.

Liberal deputy George Scutaru commented that the decision of the anticorruption prosecutors to investigate showed "the scope of the questionable deals performed over the years by the Defense. At the center of it all stays the conflict between the liberal minister of defense, Teodor Atanasiu, and Gen Badalan.

According to the military corps statute, Gen Badalan would have to step down after his investigation started, and get appointed to a new position only after a final ruling in his case.

Translated by Anca Paduraru