The head of Romania's fiscal authority ANAF Sorin Blejnar has been accused by the head of Ploiesti customs office Cornel Costea, who was arrested under bribe taking charges this week, of being the "queen" in a pyramid scheme of officials sharing the money from custom office bribes. Sorin Blejnar denied the accusations on Friday, saying the accusations against him were a "shame".
The head of the customs office in Romanian city of Ploiesti, Cornel Costea, was arrested under charges of bribe taking this week. He told magistrates that according to his knowledge at least part of the bribe money was landing in the hands of "president S.B." - a reference to ANAF head Sorin Blejnar. Sorin Blejnar denied the allegations, calling them "phantasms".
He told Antena 3 TV channel that the money from bribes "did not reach the head of ANAF because the head of ANAF did not need Costea's money". He said the allegations were "a shame, everybody is trembling because we've started the cleanup" in custom offices across Romania.
