Bucharest District 1 mayor indicted for appointing herself as manager in project
The mayor of Bucharest’s District 1, Clotilde Armand, is facing serious legal implications after she was indicted. Prosecutors have accused her of self-appointing as the manager of an anti-corruption project, a move that allegedly led to an increase in her monthly allowance.
The case was opened following a complaint by the National Integrity Agency, which alleged that she used her office to obtain income through a European project. On the same day, Clotilde Armand also filed her candidacy for a new term. She described the case as "embarrassing," and called the charges "ridiculous.”
According to prosecutors, from May 2022 to August 2022, the mayor designated herself as the project manager for "Improving Local Administrative Capacity Regarding the Development, Implementation, and Promotion of Anti-Corruption Measures.” In this way, she increased her monthly allowances by a total gross income of RON 18,720 (EUR 3,760), according to prosecutors cited by HotNews.
On the same day when the Prosecutor's Office issued a statement that she had been indicted, Clotilde Armand filed her candidacy for a new term as mayor of District 1. The Prosecutor's Office later clarified, stating that, in fact, the indictment was filed at an earlier date.
Clotilde Armand reacted on Facebook, saying it is an "embarrassing case," opened after a complaint from former mayor Dan Tudorache, himself investigated for abuse of office with damages estimated at RON 944 million (EUR 189.6 million), according to Digi24.
"An embarrassing case, opened at the complaint of Dan Tudorache, with ridiculous accusations, in which they invented damages of EUR 3,000. A case in which Marcel Ciolacu changed four prosecutors until he found one from outside Bucharest whom he promoted to investigate me, not to mention that the current prime minister attacks the independence of the judiciary at every public appearance, and justice minister Alina Gorghiu has become the PSD's tool in the demolition of Justice. I was eagerly waiting for the entire case to reach the court to dismantle this entire fabrication," Armand wrote on Facebook.
In August 2023, when the Prosecutor's Office announced that it had started the criminal investigation against her, Clotilde Armand said she had complied with the law in the case of the European funds project and that she trusts the justice system.
Armand is part of the reformist USR party, which has long campaigned on removing corrupt officials from office. The party’s president, Cătălin Drulă, says that the indictment was expected, as the justice system is politically controlled. Another USR representative, Diana Buzoianu, told Euronews Romania that it is not a coincidence that the indictment is being rolled out during the mayor’s campaign for reelection.
"We all understand the mechanisms operating behind the scenes, it's essentially the same mechanism that operated with [former USR president and presidential candidate] Dan Barna's candidacy, who was accused, and the resolution of his case dragged on for five years, only for us to be told after five years that the act didn't even exist. So, after all political opponents had freely used this tool during the campaign, it turned out that the act did not exist. We are firmly convinced that the case of Ms. Clotilde Armand will be the same, but we still hope it will be resolved quickly because it involves a document that has been attracting attention for two years. If it's such an issue, let's be transparent and resolve it,” Buzoianu said.
Representatives of the ruling coalition noted, in turn, that in the past USR campaigned to remove any official accused of corruption regardless of ongoing trials.
“That's what USR has done over time; they considered any person who has a criminal case opened, whether suspect, witness, or indicted, to be a criminal,” said Robert Sighiartău, vice-president of the National Liberal Party (PNL).
(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Octav Ganea)
