The general mayor of the Capital, Nicușor Dan, who is running for a new mandate, advertises himself on the street in Bucharest on the billboards of a company controlled by a pro-Russian businessman, and the value of the contract would be much higher than what the mayor publicly declares, according to Newsweek. The cited source mentions that USR, the party that supports Nicușor Dan at the Capital City Hall, keeps the contract secret.
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A Newsweek investigation showed that the capital's mayor, Nicușor Dan, supported by the United Right Alliance (USR, PMP, Forța Dreptei), advertises his election in Bucharest exclusively on Getica OOH SRL billboards, controlled by businessman Matei Păun, cataloged by the mentioned publication as having pro-Russian orientations.
Later, Newsweek journalists asked USR for details about the mentioned contract, but, at the request of the publication, Diana Stoica, the head of USR's electoral campaign in Bucharest, sent a short answer regarding the relationship between the businessman and the mayor of the Capital.
“I have not seen any evidence regarding the claim that Matei Păun would be one of the sponsors of Nicușor Dan's candidacy for a new mandate at the Bucharest City Hall, let alone that he would be its main sponsor. Moreover, Nicușor Dan publicly denied this assumption (..) ADU's support for Nicușor Dan's candidacy has a financial component as well as other components such as collecting signatures or organizing events. Regarding street advertising, according to the contract, payment is made at the end of the contract period“, is the answer given by the head of the electoral campaign of USR in Bucharest.
The mayor of the capital refused to offer a point of view, but answered during the televised shows that he has a friendly relationship with the businessman. “He gives some advice, we talk on the phone. (…) We are in the same circle of friends and between campaigns I don't know if we see each other three times in four years. We'll meet again in Balcic, in Krapeţ rather”the mayor Nicușor Dan also stated about the relationship with Matei Păun, according to the quoted source.
According to the cited source, Nicușor Dan stated in a broadcast on Antena 3 that the value of the street advertising contract amounts to 180,000 Euros for two months, of which USR would pay 100,000 Euros, the rest being covered by donations.
Sources cited by the publication state, however, that the value of the contract is actually around 500,000 – 700,000 Euros, the difference being a masked sponsorship from the company.
Neither the mayor of the Capital, nor USR, nor the businessman provided the contract or details about it, according to Newsweek.
