Tax Agency head refuses to resign following prosecution

Gelu Diaconu, head of the National Agency for Tax Administration (ANAF) refuses to resign following his prosecution in a corruption case; he issued a media release to this effect on Thursday, mentioning that he is waiting to be discharged, as "someone has to take responsibility for the consequences of this step. He was referring to Finance Minister Anca Dana Dragu's call for his resignation. 

Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos had announced hours earlier that the matter will be settled today. "It will be clarified today. I had a discussion with him [with Diaconu] and it will be clarified today. (...) He explained to me the reasons why he considers himself innocent, but given the charges, he understood it's better for ANAF," the premier answered media questions on Thursday morning. 

Prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate have opened cases on Wednesday against Diaconu and his deputy, Mihai Gogancea-Vatasoiu, alongside eight other suspects, in an investigation on Parliament members Madalin Voicu and Nicolae Paun for alleged frauds on European funds for the Roma minority and for money laundering. The MPs themselves cannot be prosecuted before the Chamber of Deputies approves the move; its Legal Committee should issue an advice on the matter within days, before the decisive plenum vote.