From shepherd to millionaire: the impressive rise of the businessman accused of taking bribes by helicopter
Dumitru Gal, a former shepherd from Beiuș built in three decades one of the largest companies of forest fruits and strawberries in Romania. His story seemed to be the epitome of entrepreneurial success. Now, however, his name appears in two files related to corruption and spectacular bribery, delivered by helicopter.
Dumitru Gal PHOTO Bihoreanul
Dumitru Gal built modern greenhouses, invested in technology and today coordinates over 200 employees. He boasts that on a picking day, strawberries are picked by hand from the 33 solariums spread over four hectares, where automated systems control temperature, light and irrigation to ensure consistent production.
“Each forest fruit is handpicked piece by piece, depending on the caliber. The perfect ones arrive in 250 or 500 gram casseroles, ready for the shelf. There are also the smallest ones, which do not meet these criteria, but they end up where they bring joy”said entrepreneur Dumitru Gal, quoted by Observator.
It took him three decades to build his empire.
“My first contact with work was when I was ten years old, when I was walking with our sheep and those of the village. I learned the meaning of effort and lack, but they taught me to fight“, he confesses.
Today the company is worth 35 million euros. He says, however, that he has no intention of stopping there. From the spring, he will implement a new European project of three million euros, which will build an ultramodern hydroponic system on 24 hectares.
Bribe by helicopter
Dumitru Gal came to the attention of the public after the publication Bihoreanul wrote that Gal allegedly transported bribes even by helicopter to a Kaufland employee, recently indicted and convicted for continuous bribery.
The Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bihor Court announced on October 23 that it had entered into a plea agreement with the employee of a large retailer, accused of accepting bribes to accept deliveries of non-compliant fruits and vegetables.
“Between April 1 and October 7, 2024, the defendant, fruit and vegetable quality controller at the Turda logistics center of a retail company, received from the administrator of a supplier company in Beiuș the total amount of 42,830 lei, both through bank transfers and in cash”the court reported at the time.
Separately, Dumitru Gal is also being investigated in another file regarding the alleged bribery of four quality inspectors of large retailers: Mega Image, Profi, Lidl and Auchan. Investigators claim that the money would have been offered to overlook problems related to the quality of the delivered products.
How to defend Gal
Following the accusations, Dumitru Gal, the president of the Cooperative “Our Garden” from Beiuș and the owner of the company Divin Garden SRL, stated that everything is a “smear campaign” and that the money delivered was not related to business or favors.
“The so-called 'helicopter bribery' has nothing to do with corruption. It was a gesture of charity, a humanitarian aid given for the medical treatment of a child, in no way a means of obtaining commercial or contractual advantages. Any different interpretation is either a serious error or a deliberate attempt to misinform”transmitted Gal.
On the other hand, the quality controller from Kaufland Turda, involved in the case, admitted his guilt to the prosecutors. He admitted that he received money “to accept deliveries of non-compliant fruit and vegetables” and transferred to the state the sum of 42,830 lei, considered a bribe. He was sentenced to 1 year and 10 months in prison with a suspended sentence and a term of supervision of 2 years.
