Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) confirmed in a 29 October 2026 reply to EduPedu.ro that Sabin Pășcan, the former county schools inspector-general for Mureș, is an indictee in the 2023 baccalaureate exam fraud case. More than three years after the events, his file remains under criminal investigation alongside three other indictees. In the same case, prosecutors have struck 40 plea agreements.

DNA says the inquiry continues in a severed file opened in August 2023 (48/17/P/2023), covering the facts publicised in its 3 August 2023 press release. After the Târgu Mureș territorial service was reorganised, the case moved on 15 September 2025 to the Cluj territorial service. DNA states that no preventive or asset-freezing measures have been ordered against the former inspector.

On the length of the probe, DNA notes that the law sets no fixed general deadline for ending a criminal investigation; duration depends on complexity and evidence. Asked why the case has dragged on, how many prosecutors worked it, or whether the reasonable-time requirement was checked, the agency answered only that the requested information “is not subject to public disclosure.”

The 2023 release cited incitement to abuse of office and two bribery counts. Tribunal Mureș rulings reviewed by EduPedu show a July 2024 prosecutorial order framing four influence-trafficking counts and three counts of inciting the use of non-public information — including €3,000, a free “artistic performance” demanded from parents of a transferred pupil, 15,000 lei alleged in a complaint, and €8,000 promised but not paid, according to prosecutors. DNA has not confirmed the current legal classification.

In Criminal Judgment No. 61/2026, a Tribunal Mureș judge dismissed as “insincere” the part of Pășcan’s statements claiming he had not acted on favouritism requests from “highly placed” people. Two other August 2026 rulings treat the same statement more cautiously, without calling it insincere.

In February 2026 DNA said 31 plea deals were final; the October reply says eight are still before Tribunal Mureș or an appeal court. Pășcan enjoys the presumption of innocence; the investigation is not closed.

Source: 2023 baccalaureate fraud case: DNA confirms Sabin Pășcan is an indictee (EduPedu.ro); confirmation: DNA press release — Pășcan Sabin Gavril (3 August 2023)