Anti-corruption investigations target high-profile figures in Romania

Former ministers, business people and even a Constitutional Court judge are under investigation for corruption.

Corina Cristea, 30.01.2015, 13:54

It’s a busy time for Romania’s Anti-Corruption Directorate, with more high-profile officials being detained or indicted. After being interviewed for a few hours, the former economy minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Adriean Videanu left the Anti-Corruption Directorate headquarters in handcuffs and spent a first night behind bars on Thursday. He is accused of abuse in office in a case that also involves the former Organised Crime and Terrorism chief prosecutor, Alina Bica. One year ago, Bica was accused of lifting the lien on 80 shares held by Videanu in a company, allowing him to obtain undue benefits by selling them. At that time, Videanu was being investigated by the organised crime directorate for damages to the state amounting to 11 million US dollars and jeopardising the national energy system through dealings in the natural gas sector.

Videanu’s former party colleague Elena Udrea, a member of Parliament, a former minister for regional development and tourism and currently the head of the People’s Movement Party, is also probed into for corruption. She is involved in two important cases, one on the illegal return of forested land, in which her friend Alina Bica was indicted, and one on a controversial IT license procurement deal, the so-called “Microsoft affair.” Bribes in this latter case, one of the largest corruption investigations in post-communist Romania, are estimated at tens of millions of euros.

Elena Udrea is accused of money laundering and lying in her wealth statement. According to prosecutors, between 2009 and 2013 Elena Udrea declared on her wealth statement the purchase of goods that could not be justified by her income as a minister, member of Parliament and teacher. Judicial sources say Elena Udrea was aware that the money came from illegal operations, and that her ex-husband, Dorin Cocos had been trying to obtain false receipts to cover the irregularities. Cocos, currently in pre-trial detention, is accused of having asked for millions of euros in bribe in exchange for persuading government to award an IT license contract for Romanian public schools to a specific company. Cocos is also involved in a case concerning illegal compensations paid by the National Property Restitution Authority, in which the former chief of the Directorate for Organised Crime and Terrorism Investigations, Alina Bica, has also been indicted.

Constitutional Court judge Toni Grebla is also being prosecuted for influence peddling and the creation of an organised crime group that exported foodstuffs to Russia via Turkey, bypassing a Russian ban on EU food imports.