The combination of technical specifications for 600 special police cars meant that Automobile Bavaria, owned by a friend of President Johannis, had virtually no competition at the auction, and the customer did not justify very specific requirements. This emerges in black and white from a report on the non-compliance of the Directorate General of the transport intermediary body of the Ministry of Transport, through which the purchase of the MAI is financed from European funds.

More precisely, according to a document presented on Tuesday by USR President Katalin Drula, vehicles from companies such as Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Porsche or Skoda were excluded from the start, with only BMWs from Automobile Bavaria falling under the requirements.

VIEW REPORT OF NON-CONFORMITY PROVIDED BY TRANSPORTATION HERE

The technical specifications included by the customer in the tender documentation refer to very specific technical requirements, respectively:

• exclusive automatic transmission 8+1
• wheelbase min. 2800 mm and max. 3000 mm
• minimum width 1800 mm and max. 2100 mm
• height min. 1410 mm and a maximum of 1450 mm – a minimum length of 4500 mm and a maximum of 4800 mm

“The combination of these very specific technical aspects significantly limits the competition, as when comparing vehicles of a similar class with the vehicle offered by SC Automobile Bavaria SRL (BMW 3 Series), the following results can be obtained:

• the requirement in the technical conditions regarding the need for an 8+1 gearbox excludes a number
• a large assortment of cars of a similar class (from Audi, Volkswagen and Mercedes, as well as all cars
• comparable Porsches, Porsche Request for Clarification No. DFL 881/ 19.05.2022), the transport system is designed differently by the main competitors.
• the wheelbase requirement excludes, for example, vehicles such as the Skoda Octavia (used
• other police forces), the wheelbase of this type of vehicle is 2,680 mm, less than
• minimum 2800 mm;
• the length requirement excluded other potential manufacturers,” the DGOIT noncompliance report said.

According to the document, “the combination of very specific technical requirements without proper justification, related to use and/or other restrictions, led to technical restrictions, being unjustifiably restricted competition, which is a violation of paragraph (1) of Article 18 of Directive 2014/24/EU . “.

The transport authority concludes in the report that the police have established criteria or conditions which, although they are not discriminatory on the basis of national, regional or local preferences, lead to the restriction of the access of business entities to the procurement procedure’, applying a 10% fine.

How the police justified that BMWs are the best

The Report on procurement non-conformity states that the exculpatory point of view submitted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs actually confirms the experts’ conclusions that the access of other business entities to the auction was limited.

The police cited that they should have cars with at least as much equipment as the offenders, that there should be a place to check for drugs and alcohol, that officers should enter the cars with vests and batons, or that they should say at the station while driving. In addition, the laws of physics were used when and how a car can roll over.

This is what the Police wrote in the report sent to “Transport”:

• Thus, as I have shown, the imposed technical aspects have their justification in the specifics of traffic police activity, which requires providing at least similar to citizens who commit offenses on public roads, endangering the safety of citizens by their behavior.
• Thus, the smaller the width of the vehicle, the smaller the ability to fit into the desired police route in conditions of extreme (operational) use. They are based on fundamental principles of physics that can cause a car to roll over much more easily if it is less wide. T
• In the technical specification, a wheelbase of a minimum of 2800 mm and a maximum of 3000 mm, as well as a width of a minimum of 1800 mm and a maximum of 2100 mm were submitted for approval. Thus, the wheelbase affects the stability, maneuverability and braking behavior of the vehicle, as well as the internal size of the vehicle (passenger compartment), which is related to the same requirements for efficiency and consumption. There was virtually no way to allow access to large body variations, in width or wheelbase, by car manufacturers other than the usual AA body type. In particular, the range of restrictions was chosen by optimizing the relationship between the needs of the occupants (space available for the following special equipment, kits for alcohol, drugs, radars and others) and the specified parameters.
• At the same time, the availability of a police officer with equipped equipment (vest, gun, cane, etc.) in the cabin was taken into account, the smaller size of the body does not ensure the ability of the police officer to easily reach the interior.
• An automatic transmission allows a police officer to perform other operational actions while driving a vehicle, namely the use of a broadcast reception station, control of sound and light signals, etc.
• The gearbox with gear ratios of 8+1 provides greater fuel economy and limits the loss of engine power.

Drula: “The documents show how 50 million lei were embezzled from the state budget”

According to another document provided by Cătălin Drula, no refund requests have been submitted so far, although they have been included in the calendar. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said that they can do it by the end of January.

“The documents show how 50 million lei were stolen from the state budget so that this money could be transferred to the party’s client. This shows how Bode constantly lied and covered up for Preda by not returning this European money for the BMW project from the President’s friend Klaus Johannis. The documents show that, despite the availability of significant funds for repayment by the European Union, no request for this has been received. Thus, 14 million lei had to be requested in July 2023, and 12 million lei in September 2023,” said Drula.

The Prosecutor’s Office of the European Union and DNA are investigating a sales contract concluded by the Romanian police with the Automobile Bavaria company for the purchase of 600 BMW cars.

Last September, the media reported that the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (IGPR) was buying 600 BMWs from Automobile Bavaria SRL, a company run by Michael Schmidt, a friend of President Klaus Iohannis. The Europol trade union accused a special tender.

President Klaus Iohannis said his friendship with businessman Michael Schmidt was not important in winning the tender held by the Romanian police to buy BMW cars, and stressed that if there were doubts about the legality of the procedure, there were enough competent authorities to check.

“Now about friendship with me, I can tell you that it definitely did not matter, and my information about this procedure is only what appeared in open sources, that is, in the mass media. But I can tell you one thing very clearly, if there are suspicions, we have enough competent authorities to check these things. And if possible, I expect these authorities to check everything for blood. From my point of view, it is unacceptable that my name and my position should be involved in a case that can be technically verified. I think it is obvious to everyone that I personally have nothing to do with this purchase, but if there are, again, if there are suspicions, then I expect clarifications, and very quickly,” said the head of state.

Automobile Bavaria later said that Michael Schmidt, the company’s founder and close to President Iohannis, “no longer holds any position and is no longer involved in activities in Romania.”

Romanian police say they ended up buying “a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 600 BMWs” from a company run by a friend of President Iohannis on the grounds that only one distributor appeared at the auction, even though four manufacturers were eligible. requirements, Mercedes, Jaguar and Alfa Romeo.

The cited source claims that the start of the procedures for creating technical conditions dates back to 2018, and they are “aligned with European standards.”

Police also say a framework agreement has been signed for a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 600 BMW 3 Series, 4×4 vehicles at just €32,000 per unit excluding VAT, plus €32,000. includes special equipment for police work, approximately €4000 respectively, ramp, seat post, extra battery, and a set of winter tires.

Read more:

• VIDEO Scandal BMW for the police. Bode: “The auction is fair. Full of toupee, Drula accuses a high-level conspiracy, forgetting to say how crucial a role he plays in this case.
• Drula responds to Bode: “Watch how you breathe” / Document published by the leader of the USR
• After the 600 BMW, the police could also buy 75-speed motorcycles from the company of a friend of the president, Johannis
• As a friend of Johannis’ company was the only one in the auction for police BMWs