Dominic Fritz, Photo: Inquam Photos / Virgil Simonescu
The president of USR and the mayor of Timisoara, Dominic Fritz, criticized the National Integrity Agency (ANI), stating that the institution “deals with trifles instead of dealing with real situations of conflicts of interest”. Friz says that, in the case of Timişoara's vice-mayor Paula Romocean, accused of incompatibility, “it is an abusive, malicious interpretation of the law and it is striking”, reports News.ro.
“Paula has not yet been declared incompatible. ANI issued a statement, from my point of view, without any legal basis, in which they announced that they had started an investigation on this matter. And with her, and with me, things are actually absolutely ridiculous, which have absolutely nothing to do with any kind of smell of corruption or anything else. I mean, it's so ridiculous that you actually want to wonder what they are shepherding there and what is the purpose of their existence. Do you have more have you seen an ANI file where they really found someone putting money into their account or having a real conflict of interest? At Paula Romocean, she was on the board of the hospital from the local council, that is, an official position, an unpaid position, I would say, rather symbolic, because the hospital is not run by the board of directors”, said Dominic Fritz, on Friday evening, on the local television station Europa Nova.
He is of the opinion that precisely because mandates can be lost, it is serious that ANI “deals with such trifles instead of dealing with real situations of conflicts of interest”.
Regarding the file opened by ANI in his name, Fritz said that his trial will begin in Timişoara, in the first instance, stating that it will last, because he will appeal against a possible decision that would be unfavorable to him.
“I have quite a lot of confidence that it will be fine, because the ANI theory is so weak (…) I think that any judge after seeing the case for five minutes, i.e. a PUZ that was drawn up before I became mayor, with an approval report signed by Mr. Robu (his predecessor in the position of mayor – no) on October 15, I became mayor on October 29, it is obvious that I had nothing to do with this”, emphasized Dominic Fritz.
The USR leader, Dominic Fritz, mayor of Timisoara, was targeted by ANI, with whom he is now on trial, after it accused him of a conflict of interest.
In 2023, the integrity inspectors declared Dominic Fritz in an administrative conflict of interest, because, in 2020, shortly after he was elected mayor of Timişoara, he approved a report to amend a PUZ, which he submitted to the City Council for approval. The technical documentation, for the beneficiary of this PUZ, was made by the company of Răzvan Negrisanu, USR local councilor, who had loaned Dominic Fritz the sum of 25,000 lei during the election campaign for Timisoara City Hall.
The trial is now at the Timişoara Court of Appeal, after passing through several courts. And Paula Romocean, vice mayor, is accused of violating the incompatibilities regime.
