Romania: Legally compliant whistleblowing in your company - country update in Romania

Act No. 361/2022 on whistleblowing entered into force on 22 December 2022.

As of the date of entry into force, enterprises with 250 or more employees must implement an internal reporting channel in accordance with Act 361/2022 so that the facts provided for and to be reported within the framework of the law and/or the breaches of law described further below can be reported.

For enterprises with 50 to 249 employees, the obligation to establish internal reporting channels was postponed until 17 December 2023.

The offences to be reported are legal violations that constitute an act or omission in the following areas: public procurement, financial services, products and markets, money laundering and terrorist financing, product safety and compliance, transport safety, environmental protection, radiation protection and nuclear safety, food safety and feed safety, animal welfare, healthcare, consumer protection, data protection, internet security, breaches affecting the financial interests of the EU, including violations of competition and state aid laws or the internal market as well as breaches of corporate tax standards or tax optimisation.

Whistleblowers can use the reporting channels stipulated in Act 361/2022 to report information concerning the above-mentioned breaches of the law, including justified suspicions in connection with actual or potential breaches of the law, as mentioned above, whether they have taken place or are imminent, as well as information about activities undertaken to conceal such breaches.

The reporting offices can be established internally or externally at enterprises specialised in this regard.

In the event that the enterprises concerned fail to establish the reporting channel described above, a fine of up to € 8,000,00 is provided for under the new law.

Autor: Stefan-Andrei Pisargeac