A new corruption scandal is making headlines in
\nRomania. The Permanent Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies is waiting for the
\nreport of the Judicial Committee to set the date for a vote on whether to lift
\nthe immunity of two other MPs. <\/p>\n
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On Wednesday, the National Anti-corruption
\nDirectorate requested that the Social Democrat MP Madalin Voicu and the
\nrepresentative of the Roma community in parliament, Nicolae Paun, be placed in
\npreventive detention. The two are accused of having misappropriated European
\nfunds under projects that should have benefited the Roma community. Voicu is accused
\nof influence peddling, forgery and money laundering, while Paun is accused of
\nforgery, illegally changing the destination of European funds, embezzlement and
\nfinancial operations incompatible with his position. <\/p>\n
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According to prosecutors, between 2010 and 2015,
\nunder the pretence of aiming to help thousands of Roma to find a job or become
\nentrepreneurs, they allegedly misappropriated some 6 million euros, using the
\nmoney for their own personal benefit. The local media have dwelt on the fact
\nthat, when it comes to Romanian politicians, corruption goes beyond both party
\nand ethnic interests. In the public space, Voicu and Paun pose as militants for
\nthe emancipation of the Roma community, constantly accusing Romanian citizens
\nand state institutions of deliberately marginalising the ethnic Roma. <\/p>\n
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A successful businessman, a pleasant presence in many
\nTV shows and known among his fellow Roma as Nicky the Scorpion, Nicolae Paun is
\ncurrently serving his fourth term in parliament as representative of the Roma
\nminority. A classical music conductor and the son of the famous violinist Ion
\nVoicu, the other MP involved, Madalin Voicu, has been in the focus of celebrity
\nnews for decades now. During the communist era, he was a close friend of Nicu
\nCeausescu, the youngest son of dictator Nicolae Ceausesu. After the collapse of
\ncommunism, he became a permanent presence on TV shows about public figures and
\npseudo-celebrities. He won his first parliament seat 20 years ago, also as a
\nmember of the Party of the Roma, before later switching to the Social
\nDemocratic Party. <\/p>\n
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Also involved in this latest case of corruption are
\nthe president of the National Fiscal Administration Agency Gelu Stefan Diaconu
\nand the vice-president of this institution, Mihai Gogancea Vatasoiu, who are
\naccused of influence peddling, money laundering and embezzlement. On Thursday,
\nthey two were sacked by prime minister Dacian Ciolos. Diaconu had refused to
\nresign saying he is innocent of the charges, despite a call by the finance
\nminister Anca Dragu who insisted that the National Fiscal Administration Agency
\nwas one of the most important institutions in Romania and its leadership must
\nbe above suspicion. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new case of corruption involving the misappropriation of 6 million euros of European funds has come to light in Romania.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":67356,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[28950],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-67355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-corruption"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n