The fallout of the damning audit of Romania’s National Office of Gambling (ONJN) has entered Parliament’s arena as Gheorghe-Gabriel Gheorghe, President of the ONJN refuses to be interrogated by ministers.
The governance of Romanian gambling has been rocked, by an audit of the ONJN by the Court of Accounts (CCR), which shone a light on tax liabilities of between 3.3 billion and 4.3 billion lei (€630m to €900m).
On 4 March, Gheorghe’s was summoned to explain ONJN failings to an IT committee led by Ciprian Rus, Senator of the Romania Union Party (USR) . Gheorghe refused to attend stating that the USR held no accountability to call for a committee inquiry
USR took issue with the case and underlined that ONJN leadership ensures that it provides an explanation to Parliament, led by USR Senator Ciprian Rus, Chair of the IT Committee.
Senator Rus stated: “ONJN is subordinate to the Romanian Government and, according to the Constitution and the laws in force, is accountable to parliamentary control. However, it seems that President Gheorghe Gabriel Gheorghe is not aware of this.”
At the heart of the criticism is the alleged failure to fully and effectively audit incoming license fees from Romanian operators.
The CCR emphasised that the audit could well lead to a criminal investigation, with the next steps now in the hands of the Government. However, the lack of presence from Gheorghe is likely to see the timeline of the case extended as all arguments and sides are heard.
Gheorghe has criticised the USR Party, alleging that they fell short in understanding the sector and that the body has taken steps following the audit.
The ONJN President has accused the USR of exploiting the CCR’s report, to gather support of ministers to apply a 10% limit of player income on gambling expenditures. USR ministers further support the termination of the ONJN to be replaced by the National Bank or Tax Authority.
Furthermore, Gheorghe has taken steps to pursue his efforts for Parliament to reschedule the hearing, as he vowed to provide a detailed breakdown explaining the failings, which ONJN cites are down to IT systems failings that did not capture consecutive changes to taxation policies during the period of 2019-to-2023
He also promised to identify the significant corrective measures that have been taken in the country to improve its governance.
