For Elena Udrea,
\na former development minister in the right-wing cabinet between 2008 and 2012,
\nthe situation took a turn for the worse with the announcement of the final
\nsentence in the case known as the Bute Gala. The High Court of Cassation and
\nJustice sentenced her to 6 years in prison and the payment of 3 million euros
\nin damages. Udrea, who was indicted in April 2015, was found guilty for bribe
\ntaking and abuse of office. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The former
\npresident of the Romanian Boxing Federation Rudel Obreja, who was also on
\ntrial, was sentenced to 5 years in prison, while the former economy minister
\nIon Ariton was acquitted. They were accused of illegally using public funds to
\nfinance a boxing match featuring the former boxing world champion Lucian Bute.
\nThe other persons indicted in the case and who pleaded guilty received
\nsuspended sentences. After hearing about the sentence, Udrea said there are
\njudges and prosecutors who take their orders from the Intelligence Service
\ngenerals. This is an old scenario of Udrea, according to whom the Romanian
\nIntelligence Service, her favourite enemy, is out to get her. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The case has
\nreminded people why Udrea was considered the femme fatale of Romanian politics
\nin her most influential days. The special relationship she had with the former
\npresident Traian Basescu was the springboard that helped her rise up to the
\nposition of cabinet minister. Political analysts even believed that she was the
\nnumber one in the government, ahead of the docile prime minister Emil Boc,
\nbecause of the influence she had over the former president, at a time when
\nRomania was struggling with the world financial and economic crisis. In those
\ndays, between 2008 and 2012, the press was constantly writing about Udrea’s
\nimmense influence thanks to the position she held in the government, given that
\nher ministry was responsible for the management of a lot of funds. The press used
\nto write that she had the final say in many projects, including large-scale
\nones, and that her decisions generally favoured the local elected officials
\nwho, like her, were members of the now defunct Liberal Democratic Party. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Elena Udrea has
\nwithdrawn from politics in recent years and now lives in Costa Rica, where she
\naspires to the status of political refugee. The Romanian police have requested
\na European arrest warrant and an international search warrant for Udrea. This
\nmay seem like an unfair destiny for Udrea, who recently told a Romanian
\npublication that she did more for the country than 99% of Romanian
\npoliticians.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former development minister Elena Udrea receives 6-year prison sentence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":77975,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[31795,28962],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-77974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-bute-gala","tag-elena-udrea"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n