The Military Prosecutor's Office has imposed a seizure on the accounts of Airbus and those of the 17 suspects in the SMURD case, including Raed Arafat.

The Military Prosecutor's Office next to the Military Court of Appeal in Bucharest decided on Wednesday to impose a precautionary seizure in the case of the purchase of the SMURD helicopter, which was made without the payment of taxes.

The seizure targets the accounts of the Airbus representative in Romania, the accounts of the insurer Omniasig, and those of the 17 suspects, among whom is Raed Arafat, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations. The damage estimated by the prosecutors exceeds 4 million lei. Arafat and the other suspects are being prosecuted for smuggling, following an investigation that revealed that a SMURD helicopter crashed in 2016, and its replacement was made without complying with customs formalities.

The helicopter was imported from the United Kingdom, and its use generated a damage of 4,435,269 lei to the state budget, representing the VAT owed. Raed Arafat stated that the accusations are unfounded and that his involvement in the case is artificial. Airbus has subsidiaries in Romania, including in Brașov and Bucharest.