The National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) conducted a series of raids on Tuesday, July 22, as part of a criminal investigation into alleged corruption involving Cristian Popescu Piedone, the head of the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC). Prosecutors suspect Piedone of tipping off a business in advance of an inspection, according to Biziday.ro.
The investigation included searches in five locations across Bucharest, Ilfov, Prahova, and Constanța counties.
According to DNA, one of the searched sites is a public institution, while the others are private homes or commercial offices. Media reports said that among the locations is Piedone’s residence in Bragadiru, as well as a hotel complex in Mamaia where he had been staying.
Sources cited by G4media.ro claimed that Piedone alerted a business operator in Sinaia – Hotel International, owned by former Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) chief and liberal politician Dan Radu Rușanu – about an upcoming control and advised them on how to pass the inspection.
Piedone confirmed he was present during the search of his home but denied any wrongdoing. Speaking to reporters outside his residence, he admitted to being a longtime friend of the hotel owner but rejected the idea that he had interfered in the inspection process.
“If this happened, it would have been sometime in May. I wasn’t coordinating that operation. I won’t deny that the hotel owner is a close friend of mine – a public figure – but there was no exchange of information,” he said, as quoted by Biziday.ro.
“I didn’t traffic any influence, I didn’t take a single leu, I did my job. Yes, I disturbed a lot of people – corporations and others you don’t see behind these stories. I will prove my presumption of innocence. If there’s any proof, it means my phones and my driver’s phones were tapped.”
Cristian Popescu Piedone was appointed ANPC president in February 2025 by former prime minister Marcel Ciolacu. A controversial political figure, he previously served as mayor of District 5 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Bucharest against Nicușor Dan.
Piedone also served as mayor of Bucharest’s District 4 during the 2015 Colectiv nightclub fire. In 2022, he was sentenced to four years in prison in connection with the tragedy, but Romania’s High Court overturned the verdict in 2023, leading to his release.
irina.marica@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea)
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