Bolojan: No illegal or immoral conduct by Deputy PM Gheorghiu

Acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said he sees nothing „illegal or immoral” in the actions of Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu, after reports that she contacted two public institutions to ask whether they were interested in services offered by the German company Schwarz Digits. The discussions surfaced amid news that Kaufland, part of the same group, had previously collaborated with the „Daruieste Viata” Association.

Asked how he views calls for Gheorghiu’s dismissal following public accusations that she formally asked two public institutions – the Authority for Romania’s Digital Transformation (ADR) and the the Special Telecommunications Service (STS) – whether they were interested in purchasing services from Schwarz Digits, given her past contractual ties with Kaufland through „Daruieste Viata”, Bolojan rejected the allegations.

„I do not believe Ms. Gheorghiu did anything illegal or immoral by meeting with a major company and communicating with those who might be interested in potential areas of cooperation – without putting any pressure on them, without hiding the meetings, and without communicating in any concealed way. (…) At the level of a country, when you hold public office, it is normal to engage with major companies. This group is one of the largest in Europe, both in retail, with over 600,000 employees, and in the European cloud and IT sector. When such companies are interested in investing in Romania, building a factory or bringing new technology, I see nothing abnormal in checking whether such projects are feasible,” Bolojan said in an interview with HotNews.

The prime minister added that what would be problematic is involvement in unofficial arrangements.

„Trying to steer them toward certain areas or seeking commissions – that would be abnormal, and I am convinced Ms. Gheorghiu did not do that,” Bolojan said.

He also stressed that Schwarz Digits and Kaufland are separate divisions within the group, responding to questions about Gheorghiu’s previous contractual relationship with Kaufland through „Daruieste Viata”.

„They are different divisions, different things. What Kaufland does is one thing; what this major European company’s cloud division does is another. I don’t think Ms. Gheorghiu was proposing business related to Kaufland stores in Romania. These were serious matters, because in the area of digitalisation we have major delays due to fragmented applications and a lack of coordination. Unfortunately, we have parallel systems that are not integrated. Without measures that bring things into a more centralised structure, digitalisation cannot move forward,” Bolojan said.