Emil Savin, the businessman who bribed Dumitru Buzatu, the president of Vaslui County Council, with a sum of 1.25 million lei, representing 10% of the value of a contract for the improvement of a county road, has had his firearm license suspended by the Vaslui Police.
During the hearings at the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA), Emil Savin confessed that his companies were at risk of bankruptcy because the Vaslui County Council, led by Buzatu, had blocked payments for the work performed. However, Savin’s main company, Transmir, won a total of 45 tenders organized by the Vaslui County Council, with the value of the contracts amounting to approximately 40 million euros.
Furthermore, Savin is nicknamed the “king of asphalt” in the county, and another nickname he goes by is Farmazon. In 2015, Savin was indicted in a tax evasion case, in which more than 20 businessmen were involved. They carried out the evasion through fictitious trading of commercial activities, accompanied by invoices issued by phantom firms.
The trial lasted for a long time, and the verdict of the Bacau Court came only on November 27, 2020, acquitting Emil Savin because the crimes had expired. In September 2020, the Vaslui County Police Department sent a notice to Emil Savin, who was an indicted person, suspending and withdrawing his firearm permit. Savin is a passionate hunter and owns the 37 Carja hunting ground in Vaslui County.
On January 4, 2021, Emil Savin filed a lawsuit against the Vaslui County Police Department. The case, titled “cancellation of administrative act,” was registered at the Vaslui Court, according to the data consulted by FANATIK. In his lawsuit, Emil Savin requested the annulment of the suspension and withdrawal of his firearm permit, issued by the Vaslui County Police Department on September 9, 2020.
In the reasoning of his claim, Emil Savin stated that he received the notice of suspension and withdrawal of his firearm permit at his domicile, informing him that the authorization for carrying and using weapons and ammunition had been suspended and the firearm permit had been withdrawn due to the initiation of criminal action in the tax evasion case on January 16, 2015.
Emil Savin argued in court that, if it was truly deemed necessary to suspend and withdraw his firearm permit, the relevant authorities had the obligation to intervene promptly. “What is the purpose of the regulation and the measure in question if it can be issued almost 5 years later? It is easy to conclude that the competent authorities did not analyze his situation and even omitted to carry out a concrete and prompt analysis, which is why after 5 years a notice was issued to cover their glaring omission,” stated the dossier.
Emil Savin further argued that during all this time, the criminal case had been transferred by the prosecutor to the court, and was thus in the trial phase. “Once the situation is before an independent and impartial judge, it is inconceivable for another authority to intervene and impose a sanction that, in fact, corresponds to the nature of a complementary punishment,” the dossier consulted by FANATIK mentioned.
The businessman also argued that the nature of the offenses for which criminal action had been initiated, namely economic crimes, was relevant. He mentioned that there was no conduct on his part that could be classified as a specific violent category, justifying the measure adopted by the Vaslui County Police Department. “All the aforementioned facts indicate that in this case, there is an illegal and unjustified measure, making it absolutely necessary to intervene in order to ensure the respect of his rights,” the dossier stated.
On May 10, 2021, the Vaslui Court accepted Savin Emil’s request to refer the case to the Constitutional Court, challenging the constitutionality of the provisions of art. 44 para. 1 lit. a and para. 3, relating to art. 14 para. 1 lit. d of Law 295/2004, and referred the case to the Constitutional Court for a decision on the exception of unconstitutionality. On May 27, 2021, the court suspended the judgment of the claim made by Emil Savin until the exception of unconstitutionality is resolved. Additionally, a 6-month monitoring term was set. None of the parties filed an appeal, so the court pronounced the suspension of the trial. As Emil Savin was definitively acquitted in the tax evasion case on October 24, 2022 by the Bacau Court of Appeal, the Vaslui County Police Department lifted the suspension of his firearm permit.
