Romania's top general under investigation for suspected corruption

BUCHAREST, June 2 (Reuters) - ‌Romanian anti-corruption ​prosecutors ​said on Tuesday they had opened a criminal investigation against General Gheorghita Vlad, ‌the Army's Chief of Staff, on suspicion ⁠that he abused his power to unlawfully secure state-funded ‌college seats.

Vlad, the highest-ranking ‌active military officer in Romania, declined comment on Tuesday. The defence ministry said it was ​cooperating but could not comment without interfering with the investigation.

The prosecutors said in a ⁠statement that Vlad was under investigation for aiding and abetting a ​second in command to demand that an additional 20 state-funded college seats be given ​to the defence ministry ‌in 2025, overstepping their job remit.

The ministry has a few state-funded places allotted ⁠each year at several educational institutions such as the College of Physical Education in Bucharest.

Transparency International ⁠has repeatedly ranked Romania as one of the European Union's ​most corrupt states.

The European Union kept Romania's justice system under special monitoring after it joined the bloc in ‌2007 but the pace of anti-graft investigations slowed after this was lifted in ‌2023. The judiciary has delivered some high-level ⁠acquittals that have raised ‌concerns that the ​Romanian authorities' fight against corruption has lost momentum.

(Reporting by Luiza IlieEditing by Gareth ‌Jones)

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