The head of the State Main Tax Inspectorate Nicolae Vicol was arrested for 72 hours, being suspected of committing a number of offenses, including passive corruption, abuse of power, and violation of the inviolability of private life (phone tapping), Info-Prim Neo has learned from the National Anticorruption Center. In the morning of February 15, the Center, in concert with prosecutors, carried out a number of inspections at the State Main Tax Inspectorate. In a news conference later, the head of the Center’s Prosecution Division Bogdan Zumbreanu said the investigations into this case were launched last September after the Center was informed that officials of the Tax Inspectorate extorted €5,000 to €10,000 a month from companies for not inspecting them. According to Bogdan Zumbreanu, during the investigations it was established that a high-ranking official from the Inspectorate, using the capacities of former employees of the Center, tapped the phone of an employee of the Inspectorate in order to blackmail her later. Two current offices of the Center were involved in the tapping. They are now questioned by prosecutors. National Anticorruption Center director Viorel Chetraru denied that the criminal case started against the Inspectorate’s head has a political subtext. At the same time, the State Main Tax Inspectorate issued a communiqué saying the inspections are not at all accidental and were caused by the radical change of the Inspectorate’s attitude towards those who commit tax evasion and towards the phantom companies. Accidentally or not, the intimidation actions take place in exactly the same period when the actions of a group of ICT and metal export companies are analyzed.