In recent years, the National Anti-corruption Directorate, the
\nspearhead in the fight against corruption, the scourge that still eats away at
\nthe foundations of the Romanian administration, has managed to recover, not
\nonly in terms of image, the ground lost since the fall of communism. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Through its many indictments, many of which have ended with prison
\nsentences, the National Anti-corruption Directorate has created the certainty
\nthat no one is above the law, regardless of popularity, position, political
\naffiliation or power of influence. We have also seen, however, that the
\njudicial system does not have enough powerful tools to recover the losses
\ncaused by corruption, which for everyone, from legal experts to ordinary
\ncitizens, is the true final act when it comes to carrying out justice. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This idea has been emphasized in an address given by Romania’s
\ntechnocratic prime minister Dacian Ciolos at the opening of the 6th
\nPan-European Conference of Asset Recovery Offices organized by the European
\nCommission in Bucharest in cooperation with the Romanian justice ministry. The
\nact of justice is incomplete unless the illegally obtained assets are
\nrecovered, said Ciolos. He also gave assurances that the National Agency for
\nthe Management of Frozen Assets would become functional by the end of the year.
\nThis is what the prime minister said about the money that needs to be recovered
\nand its future destination:<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Dacian Ciolos: We are talking about over half a billion euros,
\nwhether in money or assets, which must be returned to the state budget. We have
\ndecided that the funds, the resources we recover through this agency should go
\nto education, healthcare and social projects.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Justice minister Raluca Pruna, who also attended the Pan-European
\nConference of Asset Recovery Offices, said Romania’s legal system is mature,
\nstable and independent at this point and recalled that the acquittal rate in
\ncriminal cases is below 10%, way below the European average. Raluca Pruna also
\nspoke about other aspects of the country’s legal system. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Raluca Pruna: The news that a senior official, a minister or a
\nparliamentarian is indicted and convicted is no longer a surprise for public
\nopinion in Romania. Cases related to organised crime, tax evasion and money
\nlaundering end not only in convictions, but also in the confiscation of
\nconsiderable amounts in damages.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Recovering these losses is the next step, given that, as prime
\nminister Dacian Ciolos put it, we cannot tolerate lucrative crookedness as a
\nway of doing things and a way of living in Romania. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Until not long ago, convictions, in particular in big corruption cases, did not seem to be enough to carry out justice. Now, the authorities want to do more, namely to recover in full the damages caused in these cases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":70522,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[28992,29483,29842],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-70521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-anti-corruption","tag-dacian-ciolos","tag-raluca-pruna"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n