The former general director of Romanian Waters escapes punishment through the statute of limitations in the one-million-euro bribery case

Former director general of Romanian Waters, Victor Sandu, escapes criminal liability due to the statute of limitations in the case in which he is accused of allegedly demanding a one-million-euro bribe from a contractor carrying out works in Bihor County. The trial, in which six defendants are being prosecuted, continues at the Bihor Tribunal, with no first-instance ruling having been issued.

The case was sent to trial in September 2020 and reached the Bihor Tribunal in February 2022, after being transferred from the Bacău Tribunal. The trial on the merits began only in September 2024, after two years in the preliminary chamber, and was subsequently subject to successive postponements. The next hearing is set for January 28, 2027.

The general limitation periods for the offenses of taking and giving bribes expired in 2025. However, the statute of limitations is not equivalent to an acquittal and does not preclude confiscation. Investigators placed liens on assets and sums worth nearly five million lei, and the court must determine whether the evidence justifies maintaining the measure and confiscating the money considered to be bribes.