Legal proceedings in the case of Sebastian Ghita

Extradition is ready to proceed in the case of former Romanian MP Sebastian Ghita, Romanian authorities say

Mihai Pelin, 19.04.2017, 12:52

Nearly four months after his disappearance, former MP and businessman Sebastian Ghita was identified and arrested on April 14 in Serbia, based on arrest warrants issued in Romania. Ghita was wanted in several criminal investigations and was listed as a fugitive by Interpol. The former MP was tracked down in Belgrade, after using a fake Slovenian ID and driver’s license. He is now in pre-trial arrest and is investigated for use of forged documents.

The Romanian authorities insisted Ghita be extradited to stand trial in Romania. Extradition proceedings are in place, Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader has said, explaining that he was still waiting for paperwork to be submitted by the courts of law that issued the arrest warrants on Ghita’s name before launching extradition proceedings. The former MP might also face trial in Serbia, if the local authorities consider Ghita committed a crime on Serbian territory. Things might get even more complicated if Ghita filed for political asylum in Serbia, in which case the extradition might be postponed.

The Romanian Police played a key role in apprehending Ghita, after exchanging information with law enforcement agencies from Serbia and Slovenia. Their actions were coordinated by the case prosecutor, and all the results were submitted to Serbian authorities. Sebastian Ghita is wanted in five criminal investigations. The allegations he faces include bribe-taking, instigation to abuse of office and money laundering, influence peddling, blackmail, the setup of an organized crime group and the use of classified information.

Over the last years Sebastian Ghita’s companies struck millions of euros worth of deals with the Romanian state. After his disappearance, Ghita made several controversial revelations on his own private TV station, which led to the dismissal of Deputy Intelligence Chief, General Florian Coldea, who was subsequently put on reserve status. According to Ghita, the two allegedly spent several holidays together and were close friends.

As a member of Parliament in the 2012-2016 period, Sebastian Ghita sat on Parliament’s Committee for overseeing the activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service. Moreover, Ghita was doing business with the Romanian Intelligence Service. Many of the contracts had been classified at the time, protected by confidentiality terms regarding the technology Ghita’s companies had provided. (Translated by V. Palcu, edited by D. Vijeu)