Gabriel Daraban, placed under judicial control in the diesel fuel tax evasion case

Gabriel Daraban, former commercial director of Oil Terminal, has been placed under judicial supervision by DIICOT prosecutors in the case concerning alleged tax evasion in the diesel trade, judicial sources told AGERPRES. Investigators decided not to request pretrial detention for him or businessman Gheorghe Chealfă, who were detained Thursday evening.

The two were targeted in a major operation carried out by DIICOT and officers of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime. On Thursday, 46 searches took place in Bucharest and in the counties of Constanța, Bacău, Prahova, Galați, and Ilfov. The individuals targeted include the head of the Constanța Customs Office, customs inspectors, the head of the tax inspection department within ANAF Bacău, directors of Oil Terminal Constanța, and employees of CEC Bank Bucharest.

According to DIICOT, in 2023, four individuals allegedly formed an organized criminal group, which was subsequently joined by other members. The group allegedly sought to obtain significant benefits by avoiding the payment of VAT and excise duties related to the sale of petroleum products.

The investigation concerns offenses such as forming an organized criminal group, tax evasion, illegally obtaining funds, fraud, rigging public tenders, and abuse of office, some in continued form and with particularly serious consequences.

DIICOT stated that, so far, the evidence does not indicate that the diesel sold originated from distributors in the Russian Federation. Gabriel Daraban is the brother of Mihai Daraban, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania.

It should be recalled that Gabriel Daraban's detention took place one day after he resigned from his position at Oil Terminal. In the same case, his brother, Mihai Daraban, later stated that he had no connection to the investigation and did not hold any positions at Oil Terminal, requesting that no unfounded associations be made