The Romanian government has announced a cost-saving move following an investigative report that exposed an outrageous rent deal by one of its regional ministries. A southeastern branch of Romania’s Ministry of Investments and European Projects (MIEP) will soon relocate into a state-owned building, ending a five-year lease that had cost taxpayers nearly €15,000 (US$17,000) per month. The decision, made public on October 9, is expected to save the government roughly €720,000 over the next four years – a significant amount for a nation already struggling with some of the lowest per capita income levels in the European Union.

The decision follows a damning investigation by Public Record, the Romanian partner of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). Their report revealed that the regional branch, located in Brăila, was paying far more than market rates for its office space. According to the findings, a building of similar size in the same city had been leased by the same landlord for roughly half the price, raising immediate questions about why the ministry had agreed to such an inflated rental agreement.

In response to the report, Romania’s government took an unusually rapid step to correct the situation. A cabinet decision issued on October 9 declared that the ministry’s Brăila office would be relocated to a property owned by the state, which will be provided rent-free. The document stated that this measure “will achieve a budgetary saving by eliminating the payment of the respective rent,” emphasizing the administration’s commitment to efficient use of public funds.

While the move may appear to be a straightforward budgetary adjustment, its timing reveals a deeper story. The government’s sudden action came only a few weeks after Public Record’s exposé gained national attention and triggered a preliminary investigation by the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA), Romania’s top anti-graft body. The DNA confirmed that it had begun “establishing the procedural framework in........

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