{"id":33633,"date":"2022-02-02T13:06:29","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T11:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riseproject.ro\/investigations\/uncategorized\/video-the-masks-from-the-weapons-factory\/"},"modified":"2023-06-18T12:31:51","modified_gmt":"2023-06-18T10:31:51","slug":"video-the-masks-from-the-weapons-factory","status":"publish","type":"investigations","link":"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/en\/investigations\/uncategorized\/video-the-masks-from-the-weapons-factory\/","title":{"rendered":"(VIDEO) THE MASKS FROM THE WEAPONS FACTORY"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>A director from one of Romarm\u2019s factories claims that the protective masks against coronavirus, manufactured under his supervision, are few and difficult to sell. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b>The strategic investment for producing masks has turned into a governmental lie, says Cristinel Necula, a technical director at the Dragomire\u0219ti Special Products Plant.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>There were major syncopes after the Prime Minister\u2019s visit who had officially announced a production capacity of 350 thousands masks per day.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>In reality, at that time, the factory was producing only 15,000 masks per day, which is 20 times less due to the used equipment imported from China through an intermediary. <\/b><\/li>\n<li><strong>The state risks losing the money they invested: the equipment contract was guaranteed by a non-banking financial institution (IFN) that was meanwhile unauthorized by the National Bank of Romania for numerous irregularities.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b>At the same time, Romania has massively imported poor quality masks, which do not offer protection against the new coronavirus.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17347\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17347\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Vizita-PM-L-Orban-la-Uzina-de-Produse-Speciale-Dragomiresti-Dambovita-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Ludovic Orban \u00een vizit\u0103 la Uzina de Produse Speciale Dragomire\u0219ti \u00een 29 aprilie 2020. Cristinel Nicula (st\u00e2nga) era \u00eenc\u0103 directorul general al fabricii. Surs\u0103: Guvernul Rom\u00e2niei - captur\u0103 Youtube\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Vizita-PM-L-Orban-la-Uzina-de-Produse-Speciale-Dragomiresti-Dambovita-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Vizita-PM-L-Orban-la-Uzina-de-Produse-Speciale-Dragomiresti-Dambovita-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Vizita-PM-L-Orban-la-Uzina-de-Produse-Speciale-Dragomiresti-Dambovita-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Vizita-PM-L-Orban-la-Uzina-de-Produse-Speciale-Dragomiresti-Dambovita.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17347\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ludovic Orban visiting the Dragomire\u0219ti Special Products Plant on April 29, 2020. Cristinel Nicula (left) was the director of the factory. Source: The Romanian Government &#8211; YouTube screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>THE INSIDE MAN<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI will probably face more repercussions (because I spoke to RISE) but as I told you, I think it\u2019s good for the truth to be known. More people will probably see that the truth is completely different than what has been said\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, thinks the former general manager of the Dragomire\u0219ti Special Products Plant, Cristinel Nicula<\/span><\/p>\n<p>He says he was replaced on September 8, 2020 after the equipment purchased by Romarm for the production of protective equipment had syncopes and was stopped. Romarm is the national weapons and ammunition manufacturer but in the emergency and alert state situations, it joined the fight against the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cristinel Nicula is still a technical director and is aware of the current situation in the factory. He has been working at the Dragomire\u0219ti Special Products Plant since 1986. First as a design engineer,head of a department, then he became a technical director. Later on, in 2014, he was appointed as a general director.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dissatisfied with what happened to him, Nicula decided to talk about the plant he\u2019d run for the past seven years. In an interview with RISE Project, the former general manager explains how the ones who questioned the masks production were removed.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_34977\"  width=\"890\" height=\"500\"  data-origwidth=\"890\" data-origheight=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FvpjSNtPKDQ?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>THE TELEVISION REALITY<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>April 29, 2020, Dragomire\u0219ti, D\u00e2mbovi\u021ba. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Romania has declared a state emergency situation. Prime Minister Ludovic Orban visits the local weapons factory, accompanied by the Minister of Defense and Minister of Economy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government has invested here $1.6 million for producing masks, as a solution for the lack of sanitary protection materials. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So the workers from the Dragomire\u0219ti Special Products Plant are now producing masks, instead of ammunition. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pictured next to shiny metal parts, the Prime Minister inspects the new production equipment and everything seems to work like a Swiss watch. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, there is a press conference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHello! I wore the first FFP2 mask, produced in Romania at the Dragomire\u0219ti Special Products Plant, which is in fact FFP3 when it comes to the certification of the material that was used\u201d, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">says Ludovic Orban smiling, while changing the surgical mask with a new one produced in the factory. <\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17333\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17333\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-04-at-12.48.13-PM-e1607083111536.png\" alt=\"Premierul Rom\u00e2niei probeaz\u0103 o masc\u0103 N95 produs\u0103 la Dragomire\u0219ti. Surs\u0103: Guvernul Rom\u00e2niei - captur\u0103 Youtube\" width=\"300\" height=\"191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-04-at-12.48.13-PM-e1607083111536.png 990w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-04-at-12.48.13-PM-e1607083111536-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-04-at-12.48.13-PM-e1607083111536-768x489.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17333\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Prime Minister is trying on a N95 mask produced at Dragomire\u0219ti. Source: The Romanian Government &#8211; YouTube screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mask presented by the Prime Minister is the one that was recommended by the World Health Organization in medical maneuvers involving aerosols. The degree of protection offered by the mask reaches up to 95%, three times higher than that provided by surgical masks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe equipment was purchased for an automated production of these masks, with a capacity between 300- 350 thousand pieces per day for surgical masks. For the N95 masks, according to the European FFP3 standard, the production capacity will be between 70 and 75 thousand units per day\u201d, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">adds the Prime Minister.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The factory was supposed to provide masks for hospitals and not only, because at the beginning of the pandemic, in February, the Government announced that at least 1.75 million FFP2 or FFP3 masks were needed for the emergency stocks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>THE REALITY FROM THE THE FACTORY<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the factory, things are different. Cristinel Necula, the former general manager says: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201e<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The machines were switched- on five minutes prior to the prime minister&#8217;s arrival, because there was the risk of seeing the parts all over the place. <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One machine was broken when he came. We were stunned by what he said on camera. We were making a maximum of 14,000 (masks) a day. How can you say that? I couldn\u2019t take it anymore, the machines kept breaking down. It\u2019s unreal! I think that night or the next day, the N95 machine broke down too.\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicula also says that the day before, only 13,400 masks were made, more than 20 times less than what the prime minister had announced. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Director Nicula claims that the numbers stated by Ludovic Orban, i.e. 300-500 thousand masks per day, was said first by the Minister of Economy, Virgil Popescu. Contacted by phone, the minister explained that it was written in the contract. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Virgil Popescu claims after Cristinel Nicula was no longer the general director: \u201e<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201csuddenly, things started to work\u201d, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">i<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ar<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the machines <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cdid not function within optimal parameters but they didn\u2019t break down anymore\u201d.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the equipment isn\u2019t working now either, says Nicula, who adds that he informed the minister of the real production capacity five days before the prime minister\u2019s visit. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The photos taken inside the factory, obtained by RISE, show machinery with rusty parts used to produce masks that should protect us from coronavirus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>\n\t<div class=\"slideshow_container slideshow_container_style-light\" data-slideshow-id=\"17340\" data-style-name=\"style-light\" data-style-version=\"2.7.1\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow_loading_icon\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow_content\" style=\"display: none;\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow_view\">\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow_view\">\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow_view\">\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow_view\">\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow_controlPanel slideshow_transparent\" style=\"display: none;\"><ul><li class=\"slideshow_togglePlay\" data-play-text=\"Play\" data-pause-text=\"Pause\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow_button slideshow_previous slideshow_transparent\" role=\"button\" data-previous-text=\"Previous\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow_button slideshow_next slideshow_transparent\" role=\"button\" data-next-text=\"Next\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow_pagination\" style=\"display: none;\" data-go-to-text=\"Go to slide\"><div class=\"slideshow_pagination_center\"><\/div><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We showed images with a component of the production lines to Professor Corneliu Burileanu, PhD in electronics. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI don\u2019t recognize the electronic components, they seem to be older than I am\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, said the professor. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prime Minister Ludovid Orban didn\u2019t answer RISE Project\u2019s questions by the time this article was published.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>How did we get here?<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>THE OFFERS<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>March 24.<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Virgil Popescu, the Minister of Economy, announced that a state-owned company in the weapons industry will help fight against the pandemic: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019ve had a talk with the director of Romarm and gave him the green light to start a production line of sanitary equipment, masks, medical overalls in Romarm, so that it remains in the strategic production of Romania.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next day, Gabriel \u021au\u021bu, the manager of Romarm, justified the investment of approximately 2.7 million dollars in equipments and materials for producing masks in a note saying that that the investment will be amortized right after the first month of production, if ten million surgical masks and one million N95 masks were produced.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 1px solid #aaa;\" title=\"Nota de Fundamentare (Hosted by DocumentCloud)\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.documentcloud.org\/documents\/20419817-03_mar_25_2020_nota-de-fundamentare\/?embed=1&amp;title=1&amp;sidebar=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 1px solid #003366; margin: 10px 0%; padding: 2%; background-color: #f2f2f2;\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><i style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>Gabriel \u021au\u021bu<\/strong> (44) was appointed Romarm\u2019s Manager in December last year and held several management positions in public institutions in the last 20 years.<\/i><b><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-17336\" src=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gabriel-Tutu-Fotot-FB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"282\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gabriel-Tutu-Fotot-FB.jpg 844w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gabriel-Tutu-Fotot-FB-297x300.jpg 297w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gabriel-Tutu-Fotot-FB-768x776.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px\" \/><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He started working as an officer for the Romanian Secret Service in the early 2000s, while studying \u201cManagement of National Security Information\u201d at the \u201cMihai Viteazul\u201d National Intelligence Academy. In 2011, he worked in the cyber threat departament.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After that, he worked as an IT manager and advisor for the Romanian Lottery\u2019s director, then<br \/>\nfor the State Assets Management Authority (Autoritatea pentru Administrarea Activelor Statului) subordinated to the Government. He was also the vice president of FORTE Asigur\u0103ri Reasigur\u0103ri S.A, a company that went bankrupt.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Financial Supervisory Authority <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/lege5.ro\/Gratuit\/gezdimjzgm3a\/decizia-nr-1359-2016-privind-sanctionarea-cu-amenda-si-interzicerea-dreptului-de-a-ocupa-functii-care-necesita-aprobarea-autoritatii-de-supraveghere-financiara-a-domnului-tutu-gabriel-persoana-semnifi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Autoritatea de Supraveghere Financiar\u0103) fined<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u021au\u021bu with 50 thousand lei for favoring payments to people in close relationships with the insurance company. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, Gabriel \u021au\u021bu is an associate in two companies (Infoprimus Global Security SRL and Infoprimus Research SRL) with <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/ro.linkedin.com\/in\/pirpiliu-stefan-1211a981\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u0218tefan Daniel Pirpiliu<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdep.ro\/pls\/parlam\/structura2015.mp?idm=234&amp;cam=2&amp;leg=2008\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">former deputy<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the 2008-2012 mandate, on behalf of PDL.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u021au\u021bu is also a member of The National Association of Experts in Public and Private Security of Italy and also a member of The World Association of Detectives, according to the latest <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/declaratii.integritate.eu\/DownloadServlet?fileName=8361401_331095_001.pdf&amp;uniqueIdentifier=NTNTARTLNE_8361401\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">declaration of interests.<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His life partner, <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/ro.linkedin.com\/public-profile\/in\/cristina-roxana-david-ba156613a?challengeId=AQErpOzMgdUbrAAAAXUIMR7z1JjEoOHp9DIm8EQaANCMeJREcsIRTeyLbLDiRPbGm2VWfJXhNComvpXzyG27ftraytkX1Gs6Hw&amp;submissionId=1bd8cb7f-3f04-3c16-1df5-af7511ef7a03\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cristina Roxana David<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (44), has been<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdep.ro\/pls\/dic\/declaratii2015.salariat?idc=2000000&amp;idm=4747&amp;an=2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a parliamentary advisor in the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputa\u021bilor)<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> since 2009. The following year, she became a member of the administration board of Romfilatelia SA, the institution designated to issue Romanian stamps and postal bills.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>March 27. <\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Romarm receives two offers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interarms Impex SRL offers to sell for 194,300 dollars, a machinery that produces eight thousand three layers masks per hour, and a price of 396,966 dollars for an equipment that produces N95 masks. The delivery time is set to 15 working days. Payment will be made 50% in advance, two days after signing the contract, 20% after checking the goods at the manufacturer, and the rest upon receipt. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second offer was received the same day from AMP Synergy Bucure\u0219t. The company wanted to sell machinery for producing three layer masks for 142,860 dollars with a capacity of 5,400 &#8211; 7,200 masks per hour. The delivery was to be made within 30 days, with a 30% advance. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to an email sent to Romarm, the firm said it will not make any profit because of solidarity.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> AMP Synergy associate, Ana Maria Popovici, declined to comment on the matter. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 1px solid #aaa;\" title=\"Oferte initiale (Hosted by DocumentCloud)\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.documentcloud.org\/documents\/20419885-oferte_initiale\/?embed=1&amp;title=1&amp;sidebar=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>THE WINNER<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>March 31.<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Romarm signs the contract with Interarms Impex SRL, for the price of 979,866 dollars plus VAT. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two days later, the company receives half of the amount, and after another four days, another 20%. The money comes from a loan taken by Romarm from CEC Bank. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three production lines for the three-ply masks and one for the N95 will arrive on April 15, at Dragomire\u0219ti Special Products Plant (Uzina de Produse Speciale Dragomire\u0219ti). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Uzina de Produse Speciale Dragomire\u0219ti<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was established in 1981. It currently operates under the national company Romarm. Workers normally make projectiles for Piranha transporters or F16 aircrafts, load thrower bombs, for aviation or artillery, and produce plastic explosives.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>April 6.<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Romarm signs another contract with Interarms, of 728,450 dollars plus VAT, for production materials: elastics, metal strips for the nose, non-woven and filter material. <\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 1px solid #003366; margin: 10px 0%; padding: 2%; background-color: #f2f2f2;\">\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Interarms Impex SRL<\/strong> was founded in 2015 by an Italian citizen called Andrea Barsanti and was supposed to be active in the hotel industry. After one year, Michele Nusco and Nicola Meuli became shareholders too and the capital of the company rose from almost 50 euro to approximately 400 thousand euro and turned to trading, including weapons and ammunition.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interarms imports Beretta weapons from Italy <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and in June 2019, Nicolae B\u0103d\u0103l\u0103u who was the minister of Economy signed a collaboration contract with Beretta for producing assault weapons in Romania. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In December 2019, Interarms won five contracts worth 14.7 million lei with Sadu Mechanical Plant (Uzina Mecanic\u0103 Sadu) which is also a factory under the Romarm\u2019s umbrella.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Established in 1939 through royal decree, the plant had received money from the government for modernization, so it organized public auctions to buy new equipment for the production of ammunition. Interarms won the contracts, but never made any delivery. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Located on a side of the European road E70 T\u00e2rgu Jiu \u2013 Petro\u0219ani, Sadu Mechanical Plant seems to be on the verge of an imminent collapse: the buildings at the entrance are damaged and employees warm themselves with air heaters <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">manufacturing of equipment for extraction and construction. Contacted by RISE, Perino Baranga, the majority shareholder, says he knows nothing about the auction or the Interarms company. Petal\u2019s employees said the same thing. Baranga\u2019s name <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/jurnalul.ro\/stiri\/observator\/verdict-nup-cadou-pentru-deputatul-pnl-palar-38412.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">appears<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in a criminal case of DNA prosecutors, in which the current PNL deputy Ionel Pal\u0103r was accused of taking bribes to appoint someone as head of Romsilva Bac\u0103u- a state authority that manages the forests in the area. The file has been closed.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Riccardo Barsanti, the manager of Interarms and the brother of the majority associate, has been investigated for poaching. In October 2009, the police found him together with another Italian, on a hunting ground in Tulcea, with 79 skylarks and 12 other wild birds, although they were only authorized to hunt ten skylarks. In the previous year, Riccardo himself had organized a hunt in which six other Italians took part, without having any authorization. The police then confiscated five rifles and hundreds of cartridges.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>WARRANTY PROBLEM<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The supply contracts between Romarm and Interarms are accompanied by a guarantee letter issued by a non-banking financial institution called Suport Real IFN. Theoretically, the document allows the state company to recover its money if Interarms doesn\u2019t fulfill its contractual obligations. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Support Real IFN, which was established in 2013, repeatedly violated the Romanian National Bank rules.Although it has the authorization suspended from August 2019, it issued the guarantee letters for the contracts signed by Romarm with Interarms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 1px solid #aaa;\" title=\"Radiere Suport Real IFN (Hosted by DocumentCloud)\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.documentcloud.org\/documents\/20419892-radiere_hotararea-nr-19-2020-privind-radierea-societatii-suport-real-ifn-sa-din-registrul-general-si-implicit-interzicerea-desfasurarii-activitatii-de-creditare\/?embed=1&amp;title=1&amp;sidebar=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A representative of the Romanian National Bank explained, without knowing the details of the purchase contract signed by Romarm, that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cthe guarantee that is not valid\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 1px solid #003366; margin: 10px 0%; padding: 2%; background-color: #f2f2f2;\">\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Suport Real IFN SA<\/strong> has two companies as shareholders. One of them (Credit Burg) is owned by George Valentin Niculae and Gheorghi\u021b\u0103 Popa, who were sent to trial by the anti-mafia prosecutors in 2018, together with several other people, for being part of an organized criminal group. There is no final decision in this case. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The other company (PMB Intelligent Investment Grup) is owned by Marius Petre Bogdan and Alin Mih\u0103i\u021b\u0103 Goga. The latter is a director at a company subordinated Bucharest Mayor House. He also worked for the National Road Company. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the IFN representatives is Radu Fr\u00eencu, a former director of the state bank Eximbank. In 2016 the prosecutors <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pna.ro\/comunicat.xhtml?id=7553\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sent him<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to court because he spent almost one million lei of the bank\u2019s money for vacations in Monaco, Ibiza and other locations. The judges have not yet ruled in this case.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The former director of the plant that was supposed to produce face masks, Cristinel Nicula claims there were people in Romarm who raised the issue of using the guarantee letter issued by the IFN, because the equipment was breaking down and not producing as much as it was written in the contract. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicula says that those people <i>\u201e<\/i><\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">were all slowly removed\u201d <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, because they pointed out that the guarantee letter <i>\u201e<\/i><\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">did not have creditworthiness.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During these months, Nicula felt he was unjustly being blamed. First, the plant was investigated by the National Court of Accounts<br \/>\n(Curtea de Conturi ), then by inspectors of The Minister\u2019s Control Body who tried to make him guilty: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cthat some products that I approved are not in accordance with the standard, and that I am to blame.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>THE DELIVERY<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>April 13.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The first trucks with equipment and materials arrive in Dragomire\u0219ti in the evening, and the first problems already appear. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A reception committee finds that only three production lines have been delivered for the three-ply masks, instead of four, as stated in the contract, and moreover, they are not complete either. Power strips were missing. There are no technical specifications, declarations of conformity or documents that show the manufacturing year. What was delivered shows signs of usage. Everything is written in a report.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Former general manager Cristinel Nicula confirms:<\/span> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe machines came without technical or assembly instructions and repair instructions in case of faulty. So we had absolutely no documentation, because it was actually stated in the contract that the machines will be put into operation by video with the Chinese who produced them.\u201d<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>April 24.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The rest of the components and the forth production line for the N95 masks arrive. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201e<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe were left with bundles of hundreds of cables that had to be tied to the rest of the machines. They made video conferences with the Chinese (n.r.: the producers). We tied them up but they didn\u2019t work. Not even the Chinese knew how they needed to be tied\u201d, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicula explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The official visit of the Prime Minister then followed. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>DEFECT AFTER DEFECT<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Silence fell on the bomb factory turned to mask production until the end of May when reporters from a national televizion revealed that the production didn\u2019t reach the level announced by the prime minister in Dragomire\u0219ti. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Documents obtained by the RISE reporters show a long line of failures and problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.knightlab.com\/libs\/timeline3\/latest\/embed\/index.html?source=1g5bT9iOX_1fTW0g4jFZ164-Zif1PwsrbHEJ0D-BXasU&amp;font=Default&amp;lang=en&amp;initial_zoom=2&amp;height=450\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>REPEATED DELAYS<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the contract signed at the end of March stipulates that the production lines had to be received within a maximum of three days from delivery, they have not been officially put to work until now. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The supplier, Interarms Impex SRL claims in the same document that the products are new and unused, and if the production lines do not meet the terms of quality, a replacement will be made.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 1px solid #aaa;\" title=\"Contracte (Hosted by DocumentCloud)\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.documentcloud.org\/documents\/20420018-contracte\/?embed=1&amp;title=1&amp;sidebar=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But nothing has changed. The malfunctions became a routine and are recorded daily, for hours, in a register that has come in the possession of the RISE Project. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All of these because the director of Romarm, Gabriel \u021au\u021bu extended the supply contract through six additional contracts, with extended validity until December 2020. Some postponements are justified by communications with Interarms. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example: <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>June 10<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Interarms says the Chinese machine manufacturer cannot send a representative to help the Dragomire\u0219ti Plant to make the machines work, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cdue to flight instability and the global situation.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>June 26.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Interarms sends new documents to Romarm showing that the machines will produce fewer masks if they\u2019re operated by inexperienced workers. That is between 4200 and 6000 masks per hour. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>June 29.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In another letter, Interarms accused the members of the committee, who refused to officially register the machines, of bad intention because the information made it to the press. It also blames the employees of the plant that they did not not use the equipment professionally, that they didn\u2019t speak English and they refused the technical support that was offered. They have a solutions: to change the production location and the reception committee or to subcontract the masks production to a private company. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>August 10<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Interarms asks for a new extension: the spare parts arrived with delay and it\u2019s the vacation season. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>September 8. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The supplier requests a new postponement, until December 2, 2020. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>MADE IN CHINA<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interarms Impex SRL has so far received from Romarm 7,467,131 lei (1,684,281 dollars) for the equipment and production materials, through four payment orders.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 1px solid #aaa;\" title=\"Facturi si plati (Hosted by DocumentCloud)\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.documentcloud.org\/documents\/20420025-facturi-si-plati\/?embed=1&amp;title=1&amp;sidebar=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The machinery and some of the materials needed to produce the masks came from China, and Interarms bought them from Sichuan Lingtong Intelligence Environmental Protection Industry Co. LTD. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Chinese company was registered in 2016 and dealt with polluted water and solid or non-metallic waste until march 2020. It is owned by two Chinese citizens: Wang Ying and Liu Ruiqi. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to documents obtained by RISE, Interarms bought the machinery with $ 710,000 &#8211; and received from Romarm an additional $107,423 at the beginning of April. It would receive another 163,486 when all the official documents were to be concluded. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The materials needed to produce the masks also generated other revenues for Interarms. For example, the company bought melt-blown from an Italian company called Ramina. It paid 20 euros per kilogram and sold it for 59 euros to Romarm. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The equipment was transported into the country by the Swiss company Allodium SA, which according to a document obtained by RISE Project, had an agreement with the Interarms. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invoice value: $316,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 1px solid #aaa;\" title=\"Factura Alodium (Hosted by DocumentCloud)\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.documentcloud.org\/documents\/20420023-factura-alodium\/?embed=1&amp;title=1&amp;sidebar=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 1px solid #003366; margin: 10px 0%; padding: 2%; background-color: #f2f2f2;\">\n<p><b><i>Allodium SA <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">was registered on May 30, 1996 and is headquartered at Goldblum and Partners, a law firm in Zurich, \u201cthe heart of the Swiss tax haven\u201d, as it\u2019s written on their website. The shareholders of the Swiss company are hidden.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2012, Allodium was investigated by the Ukrainian secret service, after signing contracts for transportation services with UKRSPETSEXPORT &#8211; a state-owned company in Ukraine, which deals with import and export of weapons. In September 2015, the case was sent to prosecutors in Kiev. In the meantime, Allodium continued to sign contracts with the same state-owned company in Ukraine. The investigation is not yet closed. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The price paid for equipment and materials includes also the costs for delivery. The transport was evaluated at $ 370,800 (i.e.,170,800 for machines and 200,000 for materials). However, Interarms had the right to request extra money and that is exactly what it did: it received an additional $ 57,724 from Romarm.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>THE BOXES<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In June 2020, Romarm bought 109,440 boxes for masks from Tipomar Packaging SRL, a company registered in a city near Bucharest. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 1px solid #aaa;\" title=\"Factura Tipomar (Hosted by DocumentCloud)\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.documentcloud.org\/documents\/20420349-factura-tipomar\/?embed=1&amp;title=1&amp;sidebar=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company is owned by Emil Marius Marinescu, the husband of Simona Elena Marinescu- who works for The National Office of Secret Information (ORNISS), an institution that, among other things, issues certificates of access to secret information, that those in the defense industry must also have. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simona Elena Marinescu is an engineer and has worked at ORNISS since 2004. She is now Deputy General Manager in a department that manages the accreditation processes of computer systems that manage classified information. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her husband\u2019s company, Topimar Packaging SRL, has received from public institutions over three million lei of public money during 2007-2018. Most contracts are direct assignments and the biggest are with the state institution she works for. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, in January 8, ORNISS also bought from Tipomar Packaging <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.e-licitatie.ro\/pub\/direct-acquisition\/view\/105280708\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">non-counterfeitable printers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, worth 129,200 lei.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>THE MASKS<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Dragomire\u0219ti Plant has produced almost four million masks in eight months. We asked Romarm and the Ministry of Economy to give us access so we can see the production lines and the mask stock. When we arrived in Dragomire\u0219ti, we were granted access only to the mask stock, not to the equipment as well. The reason for refusal: we needed a special permit to enter the weapons factory. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We then applied for the access permit twice, but we didn\u2019t receive it up until today. We only saw dozens of boxes with masks, stored in a building near the factory gate. There was a CE marking on the boxes, but the batch number, date of manufacturing and of expiry were not mentioned, as they should have been. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-17338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Masti_romarm_captura_youtube-1024x559.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Masti_romarm_captura_youtube-1024x559.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Masti_romarm_captura_youtube-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Masti_romarm_captura_youtube-768x419.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The former director of the plant, Cristinel Nicula claims that the masks don\u2019t have all the necessary certifications, precisely because the equipment has not officially been put into operation. A certificate of conformity that accompanied 5,200 masks delivered to Tohan Z\u0103rne\u0219ti SA (another factory subordinated to Romarm) in July, shows that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cthe products were obtained and inspected during tests and trials performed for the mask producing machines.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>Therefore, without certifications, the masks are distributed mainly on the Romarm circuit, not helping the doctors in hospitals.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\"><strong>THE REACTIONS OF THOSE INVOLVED<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More than 60% of imported medical equipment doesn\u2019t protect against the pandemic infection. They are non-compliant. It was discovered and announced a week ago by the Consumer Protection Office, which also notified the General Prosecutor\u2019s Office. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Minister of Economy, Virgil Popescu then commented on the situation discovered on the mask market: <\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI am disappointed with the quality of the face masks on the market at the moment. If I tell you that half of the masks currently on sale in distribution networks &#8211; hypermarkets, pharmacies, warehouses, importers &#8211; do not protect us, you\u2019d say I\u2019m exaggerating but that is the reality. I want to send a very clear message: this must stop. We can\u2019t accept the sale of masks that do not protect the population.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Non-compliant masks have also reached hospitals. In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotnews.ro\/stiri-sanatate-24379501-3-847-cadre-medicale-infectate-coronavirus-debutul-epidemiei-romania-33-decese-randul-personalului-medical.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">October 2020<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Romania registered 3,847 coronavirus-infected medical personnel and 33 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the first six months of the pandemic, more than 2,500 tons of medical or protective masks were imported and sold to us, without anyone checking the safety standards. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Romanian state lost eight months in which it could have produced millions of masks in Dragomire\u0219ti for the strategic stock still necessary in the fight against the new coronavirus. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RISE Project contacted the actors involved in this failure. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Minister of Economy, Virgil Popescu<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, suggested that two employees from Dragomire\u0219ti allegedly sabotaged everything &#8211; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt was noticed that (&#8230;) the settings were being modified\u201d &#8211; \u0219i <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and claimed that the masks produced in Dragomire\u0219ti are authorized and comply with the European commercial standards. <\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17339\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17339\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17339 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ministru_INQUAM_Photos_George_Calin_1200px-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Ministrul Economiei - Virgil Popescu. Foto: INQUAM \/ George C\u0103lin\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ministru_INQUAM_Photos_George_Calin_1200px-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ministru_INQUAM_Photos_George_Calin_1200px-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ministru_INQUAM_Photos_George_Calin_1200px-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ministru_INQUAM_Photos_George_Calin_1200px.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17339\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ministry of Economy &#8211; Virgil Popescu. Photo: INQUAM \/ George C\u0103lin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Romarm obtained a commercial authorization from an army structure, designated by the Government, a different procedure than the one necessary to obtain the right to apply the CE marking, which <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/europa.eu\/youreurope\/business\/product-requirements\/labels-markings\/ce-marking\/index_ro.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">involves<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> an independent body to test and certify the quality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regarding the invalid guarantee letter, Virgil Popescu declared: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI exclude any fraud possibility. There are malicious voices, but this is something else\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and he emphasized that the National Romanian Bank sent the confirmation to Romarm that the guarantee is valid. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe purpose is to have this capacity (to produce masks), a functional capacity. Obviously there will be penalties, obviously the supplier will have to pay because they were not put into operation when they should have been. (&#8230;) Don\u2019t believe everything that is being said. I\u2019ve learned over time that the truth is in the middle\u201d,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> said the minister. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He added that Interarms recently bought some more production lines at Dragomire\u0219ti to ensure the production capacity written in the contract. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Alin Goga, associate and administrator at Suport Real IFN<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, explained the suspension decided by the Romanian National Bank: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI tell you openly. There is a competing company, in this case called Pro Capital which gave a bribe of two million euros so they can close us, because we were the main opponents. We will win this one in court.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radu Fr\u00eencu is still listed as the administrator of the IFN but Alin Goga claims something else: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cwe\u2019ve separated a very long time ago, due to reasons of ethical incompatibility.\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><b>representative of the Swiss company Allodium SA<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with hidden shareholders, that was in charge of transporting the goods from China, told us by phone to come back after an hour. Then, the answer was dull: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe can\u2019t give you any information\u201d.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>Gabriel \u021au\u021bu, the director of Romarm,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> initially asked to see the questions before the interview. Then, during the meeting we had on August 24, he asked the RISE Project reporter to sign an agreement in order to be recorded. This didn\u2019t happen. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said that the equipment was brought to the country with the company of the Ministry of Defense from Ukraine, and admitted that it was not received, nor officially put into operation because it was not in parameters. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe machines never stopped (&#8230;). There were syncopes, various parts broke down, we had to replace them with more solid ones. These types of situations happened. (&#8230;) Only one machine had long term issues\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, said \u021au\u021bu.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then we wanted to clarify some of the aspects, but Gabriel \u021au\u021bu did not answer the phone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Riccardo Barsanti, Interarms Impex SRL,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">claimed that the equipment came to Romania with the help of the Ukrainian air force, through Allodium SA, and doesn\u2019t know who is behind the company. The equipment for mask production <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cwas delivered with installation instructions and wiring diagrams\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cdoes not comply with the parameters of the technical specifications, but is functional. They have broken down from time to time\u201d.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>Regarding the guarantee letter issued by the IFN, Barsanti said <em>\u201cat that time, they were registered in the BNR register\u201d.<\/em>. He also mentioned that in the meantime, it has been transferred to another IFN.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201e<em>\u201cA political article. It\u2019s a paid article\u201d<\/em>, said Riccardo Barsanti at the end of the phone conversation with the RISE Project reporter. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Chinese manufacturer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> didn\u2019t respond to our emails. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Until yesterday, December 4 2020, Romania registered 500,273 confirmed cases and 12,052 deaths caused by the new coronavirus.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fc0ad56e-de6a-486a-bf32-de41b50432a4\" class=\"module-timeline__message-container\" role=\"row\" data-row=\"229\">\n<div class=\"module-message module-message--incoming\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">\n<div class=\"module-message__container module-message__container--incoming module-message__container--incoming-teal\">\n<div class=\"module-message__text module-message__text--incoming\" dir=\"auto\"><strong>Ana Poenariu<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"d0702df6-3a65-4f4c-a670-70c0519938a6\" class=\"module-timeline__message-container\" role=\"row\" data-row=\"230\">\n<div class=\"module-message module-message--incoming\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">\n<div class=\"module-message__container module-message__container--incoming module-message__container--incoming-teal\">\n<div class=\"module-message__text module-message__text--incoming\" dir=\"auto\"><strong>Contributors: <\/strong><strong>Paula C\u0103bescu, Valeriya Egoshyna (&#8220;Schemes&#8221; project RFE\/RL) \u0219i <\/strong><strong>Gavin Bowring (OCCRP)<\/strong><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><strong>Editor: Daniel Bojin<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*This article was partly funded through the \u201dCOVID Beneficiaries Platform\u201d project, run by Stanford University Journalism Fellowships in the United States (John S. Knight Fellowships and Big Local News, funded by the Google News Initiative).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>*This article was partially funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Romania, which is not responsible for the content of the article. The opinions expressed exclusively belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":34630,"template":"","tags":[],"investigationcat":[],"class_list":["post-33633","investigations","type-investigations","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>(VIDEO) THE MASKS FROM THE WEAPONS FACTORY &#8226; Rise Project<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.riseproject.ro\/en\/investigations\/uncategorized\/video-the-masks-from-the-weapons-factory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"(VIDEO) THE MASKS FROM THE WEAPONS FACTORY &#8226; Rise Project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A director from one of Romarm\u2019s factories claims that the protective masks against coronavirus, manufactured under his supervision, are few and difficult to sell. 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