Dominic Fritz wrote that there is a criminal case under investigation at the DNA that would involve several employees of the Timișoara City Hall, in connection with an accounting dispute with Colterm from five years ago. He stated that he had not been informed about the case and had no standing in it, but suspected that the accusation would target an alleged abuse of office for obtaining benefits for the Municipality of Timișoara. According to Fritz, no amounts of money had been misappropriated. Fritz reported that, in the winter of 2021/2022, the Romanian Government allocated 67 million lei to the city of Timișoara for the current payments of the heating system, and the City Hall transferred the amount to Colterm. He stated that the Ministry of Finance had communicated in writing that the money could only be transferred to the subsidy account, while Colterm wanted to receive it as an additional transfer, outside the existing contract. Fritz argued that the City Hall acted in accordance with the law and that other city halls that acted similarly did not have problems with the DNA. The mayor stated that the case, if it exists, would be "ridiculous and outrageous" and criticized the DNA for investigating officials who, in his opinion, had done their jobs in good faith. He argued that the fear of criminal cases could lead officials to leave issues unresolved. Fritz also mentioned that since he became mayor, Colterm had received over 1 billion lei from the Timișoara budget in the form of subsidies, and the municipality invested hundreds of millions of lei in rehabilitating the network. He noted the non-payment of certificates in 2020, before he became mayor, Colterm entering insolvency, and the interruption of service for five days in October 2021, adding that he was proud of the solutions found to maintain and save the heating system. #Corupție #Timișoara #DNA (translated)
