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Diana Buzoianu contradicts Elena Mateescu: the ANM director allegedly knew about the contested procurements since November 2025

Medeea Stănescu

15 October 2026, 15:06

Politics

Foto: Diana Buzoianu-INQUAM-PHOTOS-GEORGE-CALIN

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Acting Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu claims that the director of the National Meteorological Administration (ANM), Elena Mateescu, was informed as early as November 2025 about possible irregularities in the institution’s procurement, but allegedly denied them. The statements were made in the context of an inspection by the Ministry of the Environment and an internal audit conducted at the ANM.

“I have just received at the Ministry of the Environment an email that was sent from an anonymous account to ANM employees in November of the previous year. This email explicitly mentioned direct procurements that were carried out in violation of the legislation in force. I repeat. November 2025. An email seen by ANM employees. Ms. Mateescu replied to that email herself and told all employees that everything was in order. That there was no problem and that it was all a lie,” Diana Buzoianu wrote on Facebook.

According to the minister, an anonymous email sent to ANM employees complained about direct procurements carried out in violation of the law. Buzoianu says that Mateescu responded at the time that the accusations were untrue. This position contradicts the director’s recent statements, in which she said that she only learned about the problems after the internal audit that began in August 2026.

The Control Body of the Ministry of the Environment arrived at the ANM in July, following information received from whistleblowers. Buzoianu claims that, shortly afterward, a significant part of the procurement department resigned. The report finalized in October allegedly identified problems involving the purchase of perfumes, cosmetics, clothing, toner cartridges, computers, and furniture. The minister points, among other things, to expenses of approximately 120,000 lei for perfumes and amounts that allegedly exceeded the legal threshold for direct procurements.

The decision on whether she will remain in office belongs to the ANM Board of Directors, which has been unable to make decisions for several months due to a lack of quorum. The minister claims that this deadlock could also delay approval of the institution’s budget.

Context: the procurement scandal at ANM and the deadlock of the Board of Directors

Interim Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu called for the resignation of ANM’s leadership and announced that she would notify the Prosecutor’s Office after the Control Body identified irregularities in the institution’s procurement procedures. Meanwhile, ANM Director Elena Mateescu denied the allegations and told employees that the institution was subject to a “reputational attack”, saying that the checks were ongoing.

At the same time, Buzoianu pointed out that ANM’s Board of Directors had been nonfunctional for several months due to a lack of quorum, which could delay, among other things, the approval of the budget. According to previous information, the Control Body’s report was to be submitted to the board and the competent authorities, while decisions regarding retaining or changing the leadership were contingent on the board’s functioning.

Elena Mateescu stated that she notified the Police on 12 August 2026, after receiving a preliminary internal audit report, and subsequently reiterated that the procurements had been managed by specialized structures, with the checks to be carried out by the competent authorities.