One million euros for a minister’s signature: how Romania tried to sell fake ammunition to Ukraine
12 November 2025 14:44
A large-scale corruption scandal with international implications has broken out in Romania. Former senator Marius Ovidiu Isaila was detained on suspicion of attempting to bribe the country’s Defense Minister Ionuc Mosteanu for 1 million euros. According to Radio Free Europe, the politician allegedly tried to “buy” assistance in signing a lucrative contract for the supply of weapons to Ukraine, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
How the scheme was supposed to work
According to the investigation, Isaila, together with Bulgarian partners, planned to buy Soviet shells in Kazakhstan, bring them to Romania, repair them and relabel them as Romanian. After that, they wanted to sell the ammunition to Ukraine through an intermediary, the Bulgarian company Sofia Arm Tech.
The idea was to create a scheme for a future business that could receive funds from the EU’s Rearm Europe program, launched in March to support arms production in the 27-nation bloc. Russian-style shells are widely used in Ukraine but are not produced in the EU.
How the scam was uncovered
In early October, the head of the state-owned company Romtehnica, Razvan Mincu, was visited by a delegation from Bulgaria led by businessman Roman Angelov. They offered to use Kazakhstani contacts to purchase shells. Minku considered the proposal suspicious and informed the competent authorities.
According to the Romanian prosecutor’s office, Isaila turned to an intermediary to try to bribe Defense Minister Ionuţ Mosteanu to facilitate the deal.
A key role in uncovering the scheme was played by politician and former government official Octavian Berceanu, who handed over records of 17 secret meetings with Isaila to the police. According to him, he was offered 10 million euros for participating in the corruption scheme.
“I open the doors to NATO and the United States”
Isaila’s statements in transcripts of recordings made to Berceanu, published on November 10 by the Romanian website Gandul, suggest that he worked with others – often referring to “us” and hinting at large sums of money and political influence.
In the recordings of conversations published by Gandul on November 10, Isaila boasts of his influence:
“I am the one who opens doors! And I open doors for you – NATO, the US Embassy, Germany.”
In another correspondence, he is quoted as saying to Berchan: “Tell me how much you need and in the evening… in 24 hours you will have all the money.”
Isayla also describes how the scheme would work: “We buy [the shells] in Kazakhstan, disassemble them ourselves, then bring them here disassembled… reassemble them, paint them, organize them, and the Romanian state sells them.”
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“Billionaires overnight”
In the transcripts, Isaiah also suggests that a similar scheme has already been implemented in Albania, resulting in those involved “becoming billionaires overnight.” The Albanian Ministry of Defense and the anti-corruption body did not immediately respond to Radio Liberty’s inquiries.
Defense Minister Mostjanu wrote on social media that “one person tried to buy my influence for one million euros to facilitate the conclusion of a contract with Romtehnica. I categorically refused any meeting with this person.”
Isaila was taken into custody for 30 days. The whereabouts of Roman Angelov, the owner of Sofia Arm Tech, are currently unknown.
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