The Prime Minister’s Control Corps has reported a EUR 5 M damage.
The two former ministers are accused of intellectual forgery and abuse of office in connection with the signing of notes for the lease of software licences to be used in schools, based on which almost EUR 8 M – EUR 5 M more than the real price – was unduly paid.
The Premier’s Control Corps asks the National Anti-corruption Department (DNA) to investigate the following: ‘The circumstances in which the Minister of Education, Research, Youth and Sports, Mr. Daniel Petru Funeriu, and the Minister of Communications and Information Society, Mr. Valerian Vreme, signed and promoted in view of approval the <Note regarding the licences for Microsoft products used by the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports in schools>, recording the untrue statement that the framework-agreement no. 32 of 12.08.2009, concluded under Government Decision no. 460 of 2009 <allows the conclusion of a subsequent agreement for supplementing the number of MECTS licences for schools>, while HG 460/2009 did not cover the situation of licences meant to be used in education facilities, the result being the conclusion of the agreement for the provision of goods no.108 of 17.08.2011, legal commitment under which the Ministry of Communications and Information Society made out payments in the total amount of EUR 8,825,673.50 EUR could suggest that the criminal offence of intellectual forgery, stipulated by article 289 of the Criminal Code was committed,’ reads the report.
At the same time, prosecutors are invited to determine if:‘The act of the Minister of Education, Research, Youth and Sports, Mr. Daniel Petru Funeriu, of deficiently discharging his work duties, consisting in the fact that he ordered, in a firm and imperative manner, the Ministry of Communications and Information Society, through MECTS official letters no. 10126/19.01.2001 and 12211/05.07.2011, he assumed by signing them, the lease of a number of 179,259 licences for ProDesktop type packages and 6,828 licences for Windows Server operating systems, to be used in schools.
The necessary number of licences were erroneously determined, without considering the hardware configuration of existing computers – whether or not they supported hardware products superior to those they originally came equipped with – taking into account all work stations and servers purchased in 2001-2008 in the framework of SEI I – SEI V and RURAL programmes, although some of those did not support further software because of their existing hardware configuration, which led up to the signing of the agreement for the provision of goods no. 108/17.08.2011, under which MCSI committed to pay the price for a total of 179,259 licences for proDesktop type packages and 6,828 licences for Windows Server operating systems, 72,990 more than the number of licences usable in the education system on the existing computers compatible with the new software products, the consequence being the generation of the obligation to pay a price higher with approximately EUR 5.4 M than the price for leasing the same licences effectively usable in the system of education, amount that constituted a damage to the state budget, via the MCSI budget, meets the constitutive elements of the criminal offence of grievous abuse of office against public interests, stipulated by article 248 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with article 248 1 of the Criminal Code’.
The conclusion results from a report prepared by the Control Corps of the Prime Minister, following verifications performed at the Ministry for Information Society and Ministry of Education in connection with the lease of educational licences. The document also indicates that the empowerment of the Ministry for Information Society to complete the acquisition was illegally expanded by a note signed by ex-Minister Valerian Vreme and ex-Education Minister Daniel Funeriu and approved by Prime Minister Emil Boc. The note approved by Emil Boc contains untrue statements and gave the appearance of legality to the agreement for the acquisition of licences, Government inspectors claim. The control considered the period from 2009 to 2012.
Vreme: Everything I did was according to procedures and law. Corps of Control report – a diversion Ex-Communications Minister in the Boc Government, Valerian Vreme , said, on Thursday, on the fact that a claim had been sent to DNA against him, that everything he had done during his term in office followed clear procedures and legality was above any other principle. Vreme rejected the accusations in the report of the Government Corps of Control, explaining that everything he had done was legal and that he had not even been informed about the report. ‘I was very much committed to legality and procedures. Everything I did there was according to procedures and the law. The report is a diversion from the real problems Romania has,’ Valerian Vreme said. He added everything had been done taking into consideration there were two ministries involved and with a memorandum in the Government. ‘From the point of view of transparency, there was not a single moment when there was no transparency and legality in the decision-making act,’ Vreme stressed.Ex-Education Minister Daniel Funeriu comments on his blog the report based on which the Government will report him to DNA, saying it is ‘a new calumny in the series “Funeriu has not passed his Baccalaureate” and that he would answer those ‘who have the right to investigate allegations.’
