Romanian official arrested for allegedly paying €110,000 to prosecutor in influence peddling scandal
Daniel Dumitru Learciu, director of AFIR Constanța and a former PSD vice-president, was placed under preventive arrest for 30 days for allegedly handing €110,000 and gifts to a prosecutor between December 2025 and April 2026.
The allegations
Daniel Dumitru Learciu, director of the Constanța County Office for Rural Investment Financing (OJFIR/AFIR) and a former vice-president of the Constanța County Council, was detained on 26 June and ordered into preventive arrest the next day. Prosecutors from the General Prosecutor's Office accuse him of buying influence in continued form, carried out through four separate payments totalling approximately €110,000 and additional goods. The money was allegedly delivered directly to prosecutor Gigi Valentin Ștefan inside his office at the Constanța Court of Appeal.
At this moment, he assumes nothing. At this moment he is under the protection of the presumption of innocence.
The payments
According to the prosecutor's statement, the handovers took place on 12 December 2025, 20 April, 23 April and 27 April 2026. Learciu is said to have asked the prosecutor to intervene with various public officials on his behalf, including for the recovery of a suspended driving licence. The four material acts are treated as a single continuous offence of buying influence, which carries a penalty of 2 to 7 years in prison and loss of certain rights under the Romanian Criminal Code.
- First alleged cash delivery to prosecutor Gigi Ștefan in his office.
- Second payment; footage reportedly captures Learciu handing over money.
- Third payment in the sequence.
- Fourth and final payment, completing the €110,000 total.
- PSD Constanța announces Learciu's self-suspension and resignation as county councillor.
- Learciu detained for 24 hours by the General Prosecutor's Office.
- High Court of Cassation and Justice orders 30-day preventive arrest.
The evidence
Hidden cameras installed in prosecutor Ștefan's office captured key moments. Footage reportedly shows Learciu placing two stacks of money in a cabinet, and another recording shows the prosecutor stuffing a bribe into a briefcase. During searches, investigators found €100,000 in the office and €30,000 in the prosecutor's car. The same prosecutor is also accused of receiving about €60,000 from another person in April 2026 for promising to settle a criminal case favourably.
The wider investigation
The case is connected to the May arrest of prosecutors Gigi Ștefan and Teodor Niță, both from the Constanța Court of Appeal. Ștefan is charged with continuous influence peddling, while Niță is under investigation for instigation to abuse of office. After searches in May, Learciu suspended himself from the PSD and resigned as county councillor. The preventive arrest warrant is valid from 27 June to 26 July 2026 and may be appealed within 48 hours. The investigation continues to map the full corruption mechanism.
