Ana-Maria Badea, Deputy Director General of Romania's National Office for Gambling (ONJN), has been detained by the nation's anti-corruption prosecutors as part of an investigation into alleged bribery offences.
Prosecutors allege that ONJN officials, including Badea, received money from gambling companies in return for approving various requests or helping them avoid penalties.
Badea was detained for 24 hours by Romania’s National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) on allegations of repeated bribery. Prosecutors are seeking to bring her before the Bucharest Tribunal with a request for 30 days of preventive detention.
According to investigators, between 23 December 2025 and 21 May 2026, Badea allegedly received a total of €2,500, either directly or through her husband, from gambling operator officials. Indeed, her husband is being investigated for alleged complicity in the bribery.
Prosecutors allege that the payments were made in exchange for Badea using her official position to speed up and influence administrative procedures under her authority.
She is accused of helping operators get their requests approved faster and receive favourable decisions. These requests reportedly included approvals for new gambling products, licence renewals and other regulatory matters overseen by the ONJN.
The investigation also includes Radu-Andrei Blaga and Radu-Constantin Brătan, inspectors from the ONJN’s General Directorate for Supervision and Control. The two officials have been placed under judicial supervision for 60 days while being investigated for alleged bribery.
Prosecutors said the investigation remains ongoing, with further criminal proceedings being carried out against other individuals.
These developments follow a separate DNA investigation launched earlier this year involving former ONJN President Odeta Nestor. Prosecutors allege Nestor brokered a €100,000 bribe intended to prevent regulatory scrutiny of a major casino jackpot investigation.
Earlier this month, ONJN launched a public consultation on new remote gambling standards covering game rules, promotional terms, test accounts and virtual credits as part of its programme to strengthen oversight
