Bucharest — Romanian Deputy Prime Minister Dragos Anastasiu resigned on July 27, 2025, amid the revival of a decade-old bribery scandal that has cast a shadow over his political career and raised fresh questions about corruption within the country’s ruling coalition.
The controversy stems from a 2011 case in which a tax authority inspector was convicted of blackmailing Anastasiu’s company into paying illicit fees disguised as consultancy charges over an eight-year period. While the inspector was found guilty in 2023, Anastasiu and his business partner have never been formally charged. In a statement, Anastasiu insisted that the payments were made “for survival, not profit,” emphasizing that the company fulfilled all its tax obligations despite operating under duress.
The resignation comes at a politically fraught moment for Romania, whose coalition government is grappling with a deepening economic crisis. Facing the European Union’s largest budget deficit, the administration has pushed through harsh austerity measures, including tax increases, public sector layoffs, and slashed bonuses. These policies have triggered widespread street protests and growing unrest among the populace, putting pressure on government officials to demonstrate accountability and transparency.
Anastasiu, appointed just months ago to spearhead reforms in state-owned enterprises, had positioned himself as a reformist figure intent on rooting out inefficiencies and corruption. His departure leaves a vacuum in the government’s ambitious restructuring plans, raising doubts about the coalition’s capacity to maintain political stability and advance critical economic reforms.
This political turbulence is compounded by recent electoral uncertainty: Romania’s presidential election, originally scheduled for December, was postponed and held in May, a delay that contributed to market instability and a sharp depreciation of the national currency, the leu.
Observers note that the resurfacing of the bribery case not only threatens to derail Romania’s reform agenda but also serves as a stark reminder of the endemic corruption challenges that continue to undermine public trust in political leadership.
According to Reuters, the resignation of Dragos Anastasiu underscores the fragility of Romania’s current coalition government as it confronts mounting economic and political pressures while trying to uphold its commitments to fiscal discipline and governance reforms.
