Where are 11 billion lei from the National Development Fund? Embezzelment or financial engineering to cover the budgetary deficit

PM Emil Boc announced that the Executive plans to set up a national investments fund that can offer financial resources for major projects. However, the problem is that at this moment Romania has a similar instrument: The National Development Fund created in 2006. A fund with 11 billion lei, all coming after the privatization of private companies. The declarations of the officials suggest that the money, which were meant for investments only according to the law, covered the budgetary deficit in the last three years. What is needed is for authorities to establish whether it was embezzlement or if the money were moved from investments to salary payments through a legal financial engineering method.

So far, no government representative in the last three years assumed responsibility or could explain where the money went. Finance ministry declared that the money were used to cover the budgetary deficit.

Meanwhile, the Fund needs to recover its money. It all started back in 2009 when Traian Basescu inquired about the money, referring to the Tariceanu government. In 2009, Boc urged Tariceanu to explain where the money are.

In 2009 in the summer, authorities threatened to set up a special committee to investigate the matter but the issue was soon forgotten. HotNews.ro tried to track the money and the only clue found was that the money were used to cover the budgetary deficit.

For weeks, Hotnews.ro journalists investigated the matter and their only finding was a notice from sources within the Finance ministry reading that the money were used to cover the budgetary deficit.

In an interview for HotNews.ro, Finance minister Vladescu said that the money were spent legally but the problem is that the money were never replaced.

According to the law, the money from the fund are destined to finance investments infrastructure and other priority projects, to finance spending generated by the construction of households if their owners received compensation and to supplement funds for projects or programs that benefit from EU funds.