Anti-corruption prosecutors searched Romania’s Military Hospital as its long-serving chief faces scrutiny.

Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) carried out 19 searches on 16 October, including at the Military Hospital, in a probe into suspected wrongdoing by military medical personnel between 2020 and 2023. Prosecutors are examining alleged abuse of office, complicity in abuse of office and the usurpation of official capacity, with more than 17 individuals drawn into the investigation.

Defence Minister Ionuț Moșteanu said he was informed in June about suspicions concerning the hospital’s head, Florentina Ioniță, and decided not to prolong her term. Her mandate is due to end at the close of October 2025. Moșteanu has also signed documents for her transition to the reserve, noting that she has been eligible for retirement since 2022 after earlier extensions granted by previous ministers.

Ioniță has led the Military Hospital since January 2014. In the wake of the decision not to extend her mandate, the hospital’s leadership will be assumed on an interim basis by a designated officer until an open competition is organised to fill the role permanently.

The searches form part of a wider effort by anti-corruption prosecutors to scrutinise the military health sector, which has come under increased attention in recent years. Officials did not specify further procedural steps following the raids, and those under investigation remain presumed innocent unless a court decides otherwise.

Moșteanu’s intervention marks a change in approach at the Ministry of Defence, signalling that senior appointments at key military institutions will face tighter oversight. The outcome of the DNA probe will determine whether administrative changes at the hospital are followed by legal consequences for those implicated.