The Road Authority under the DNA microscope: Who is Cristian Anton, Sorin Grindeanu's man, at whose place prosecutors found 350,000 euros in cash

DNA conducted large-scale raids at the headquarters of the Romanian Road Authority (ARR), in a case handled by the Cluj territorial structure, and among the individuals targeted is the head of the institution, Cristian Anton, a close associate of Sorin Grindeanu, according to Snoop. The investigation targets suspicions of corruption related to how exams for professional driver certifications are organized, with prosecutors analyzing a possible mechanism through which exam questions may have been provided in exchange for bribes, with fees ranging from several hundred to approximately 1500 euros. Publications such as Snoop, Mediafax and G4Media have profiled the former chief of staff of Sorin Grindeanu.

During the home raid conducted at Cristian Anton's residence, investigators reportedly found, according to judicial sources cited by Snoop and Agerpres, approximately 350,000 euros in cash, plus about 77,000 lei, some of the money being hidden in shoe boxes.

Images broadcasted by Snoop – with stacks of banknotes stuffed in boxes and drawers – immediately evoke the classic gallery of corruption cases where cash is kept outside the banking system, far from any official trace.

Who is Cristian Anton: the biography of a "party cadre"

Cristian Anton is 57 years old, a lawyer by profession, and has been active for nearly two decades in the political and administrative orbit of Sorin Grindeanu, the current PSD president and former Minister of Transport. The two have appeared together since the 2000s as members of the Timișoara Local Council on behalf of PSD, where Grindeanu became vice mayor in 2008. In 2009, Anton resigned from his position as local councilor to take over the leadership of the Timiș Consumer Protection Office, a position clearly obtained with political support from PSD Timiș.

Anton’s career has since been built at the intersection of politics, regulation, and companies with privileged access to public resources. After a stint in the private sector as legal director at the MIR group of companies (2010–2011), he returned to the state sector as director of the Legal Directorate within ARR in 2012, a position from which he consolidated his influence in the road sector.

Subsequently, Grindeanu's appointment to Transport in November 2021 propelled Anton to another level: he became chief of staff to the minister and began to accumulate positions on the boards of strategic companies, from Timișoara Airport to Danube Bridge Vidin–Calafat (supervisory board) and Ecoaqua.

The income mechanism: five positions, over 10,000 euros per month

Wealth declarations show that Anton has gradually transformed his political and administrative position into a portfolio of well-paid positions. For the year 2024, the declaration submitted to the Ministry of Transport indicates total income of 637,000 lei (about 125,000 euros), equivalent to over 10,000 euros per month, primarily from five distinct sources.

Thus, Anton reported approximately 273,000 lei as legal director at ARR, 56,000 lei as chief of staff at the Ministry of Transport, 28,000 lei as a member of the Board of Directors of Timișoara "Traian Vuia" Airport, 256,000 lei as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Danube Bridge Vidin–Calafat company, and 24,000 lei as compensation from Ecoaqua SA, a water company subordinate to local authorities in Călărași and surrounding towns.

In just a few years, Anton's income has nearly quadrupled: in 2022, he earned just over 160,000 lei from two positions – ARR and Timișoara Airport – while in 2024, it is expected to reach 637,000 lei, coinciding with the multiplication of positions. Almost half of the total amount comes from Danube Bridge Vidin–Calafat, the Romanian-Bulgarian joint venture that manages the bridge over the Danube at Calafat, a position acquired in 2022 during Grindeanu's term at Transport.

When asked by Snoop how he manages to divide his time among five paid positions, Anton provided a response emblematic of a certain type of mentality in administration: "How does any householder divide their time among multiple activities?" When the discussion touched on the total income, he cut the dialogue short, sending journalists to the wealth declaration: "You should make a journalistic matter as you see fit... The declaration is public, okay?"

A significant detail: one day after being contacted by Snoop, on August 27, 2025, his wealth declaration disappeared from the Ministry of Transport's website, raising questions about the transparency reflexes surrounding the power network in which Anton is situated.

The network of positions and Sorin Grindeanu's political capital

Cristian Anton's trajectory cannot be understood outside of his relationship with Sorin Grindeanu. From the partnership in the Timișoara Local Council to the nomination at Timiș OPC, back to the MIR GROUP and then to ARR, Anton rises in the public system along the corridor secured by PSD Timiș and its local leader.

During the time he led Timiș OPC, Grindeanu publicly intervened to defend Anton in a conflict with the Prefecture after Anton admitted to blocking the prefect's garage; the PSD leader even announced that he would block the prefect's car in turn, citing that the garage is on private land. The episode illustrates a party loyalty transposed into gestures of open confrontation with other state institutions.

With Grindeanu's appointment to Transport, Anton becomes chief of staff and receives appointment decisions on the boards of Timișoara Airport and Danube Bridge Vidin–Calafat, as well as in structures like Ecoaqua SA. At the same time, the National Company Bucharest Airports empowers him to represent CNAB in the General Assembly of Romprest Shareholders and to vote for the appointment of Paul Păcuraru, the son of the owner of Realitatea Plus, as the general director of the waste operator – another indication of how Anton becomes the interface of politics in sensitive economic areas.

His name also appears in the duty-free scandal at Otopeni Airport, in a transcript recorded by DNA in which the owner of Millenium, Cătălin Lăscuț, presents him as "my brother Cristi" when discussing "someone" whom Grindeanu should empower in a certain decision. Grindeanu then denied any connection to the interests of the involved company, stating that he was unaware of Anton's meeting with Lăscuț and that he only asked for explanations after the transcripts appeared.

In this context, the DNA raids at ARR do not only affect a general director but also put pressure on the entire informal architecture of influence through which PSD has occupied key nodes in transport, energy, and public service infrastructure.

Cristian Anton and the titles accumulated along the public function path

Cristian Anton's CV, submitted at Timișoara Airport, completes the portrait of a character who accumulates not only positions but also diplomas and training programs, in a register commonly found among post-2000 political "cadres." He claims to have a degree in banking finance from the "Nicolae Titulescu" University in Craiova (1998), as well as in legal sciences from the University of Oradea (2002).

In terms of postgraduate studies, Anton lists three master's degrees: one conducted under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2002), one at the European University Drăgan in Lugoj (2004), and another at the Romanian Diplomatic Institute (2011), in diplomacy and security. In 2015, he adds a course from the National Defense College, "Current Issues of National Security," lasting 24 weeks, or half a year, a program that has become almost a standard for many dignitaries and influential people in the system.

Anton also mentions a doctorate in law obtained in 2010, without indicating in his CV the university where it was obtained, but specifying the name of the coordinator: Professor Dumitru Mazilu, a former member of the communist apparatus and FSN leader post-1989, later a critic of Ion Iliescu.

From the perspective of declared wealth, Anton lists a residential house, a vacation home, an apartment in Bucharest, a current account at ING, and debts of 35,000 euros to BRD, due by 2031, in a financial structure that reflects both salary accumulations and access to credit. For a public that looks up at the state infrastructure, the contrast between these accumulations and the general salary level in the public sector amplifies distrust in the correctness of the appointment mechanism.

Anton, under public scrutiny with the duty-free bribes case at Otopeni

Cristian Anton's name had already entered the public radar before the raids at ARR, with the emergence of the duty-free case at Otopeni, according to G4Media. In the DNA recordings, Cătălin Lăscuț, the owner of Millenium and "the king of duty-free," describes a conversation with Grindeanu's chief of staff, whom he refers to as "my brother," reflecting a relationship of familiarity.

Sorin Grindeanu's reaction

In an initial reaction, PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu stated that it does not matter what positions Anton held, emphasizing that "whoever does not respect the law pays."

"I saw this morning... Whoever does not respect the law should pay. I don't know the details. I personally wish for him to be innocent. But, I repeat, if someone makes a mistake... It does not matter that he was chief of staff or minister and so on. Whoever does not respect the law pays," said Sorin Grindeanu on Tuesday in Brașov, responding to a question from the press.

Summary made with the help of Perplexity