DNA names government official Cristina Trăilă as suspect in Vaslui corruption case

Questioning at DNA Iași

National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) prosecutors in Iași summoned and questioned Cristina Trăilă on Tuesday morning, 25 August 2026. Trăilă, a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL) who holds the post of deputy secretary general of the Government, arrived at the DNA Iași territorial office for questioning regarding her role in a wider influence-peddling case. According to judicial sources, anticorruption investigators formally designated Trăilă as a suspect for complicity in offenses assimilated to corruption under Article 13 of Law 78/2000. Trăilă previously served in the Romanian Parliament as a PNL deputy before her appointment to the government general secretariat in April 2025 with ministerial rank. As of Tuesday morning, prosecutors continued the procedural hearings at the judicial headquarters without an immediate formal statement from the agency.

The Vaslui regulatory dispute and influence ring

The DNA investigation revolves around Fănel Bogoș, a veterinarian and agricultural businessman from Vaslui County who remains in preventive detention on charges of buying influence. The case began after the Vaslui County Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Directorate (DSVSA) conducted inspections at a poultry farm operated by Bogoș, discovering multiple operational irregularities. Dissatisfied with the regulatory findings, Bogoș organized an influence-peddling operation designed to force the removal and replacement of the county DSVSA executive director. Judicial sources revealed that Bogoș disbursed hundreds of thousands of euros during 2025 in attempts to secure administrative intervention. Those funds were allegedly directed toward political figures, former magistrates, and retired officers from Romania's intelligence services, including the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), all of whom promised to facilitate the official's dismissal.

The Victoria Palace meeting and financial transactions

As part of the effort to bypass local veterinary regulators, Bogoș enlisted the assistance of Mihai Barbu, the leader of the PNL Vaslui county organization and the head of the national party treasury. In September 2025, Barbu scheduled a formal meeting at the government headquarters at Victoria Palace between Bogoș and Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, who concurrently serves as the national president of the PNL. Prosecutors from the DNA allege that Bogoș paid a total of 1.5 million euros for the high-level meeting intermediated by Barbu. On 6 November 2025, Prime Minister Bolojan publicly confirmed that the meeting with Barbu and Bogoș occurred at Victoria Palace after Barbu requested an introduction for a prospective political candidate. Bolojan specified that the encounter lasted approximately 15 minutes and that Bogoș presented no specific administrative demands or requests during their conversation.

Investigation background and status

The anticorruption investigation into the network of politicians, military reservists, and intelligence veterans came to light publicly in November 2025, resulting in Bogoș's arrest and successive extensions of his preventive custody. The case was initially initiated under the leadership of prosecutor Cristina Chiriac during her tenure heading the DNA territorial office in Iași. Chiriac was subsequently nominated and appointed as Prosecutor General of Romania by President Nicușor Dan, a nomination that proceeded despite an unfavorable advisory opinion from the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM). Trăilă's questioning in Iași marks an expansion of the ongoing probe into government officials and political leadership connected to the Bolojan administration, as prosecutors continue examining the connections between the Vaslui business interests and national cabinet offices.