Politicians accused of corruption
High-profile politicians, whether members of Parliament or of local administration, are probed into for corruption in Romania.
Bogdan Matei, 01.04.2016, 13:35
A novelty has been reported in the anti-corruption efforts in Romania. On Thursday, prosecutors ordered that Deputy Sebastian Ghita be remanded on a record-high 13-million euro conditional bail, after the Chamber of Deputies had dismissed the National Anti-Corruption Directorates request to have Ghita detained pending trial.
A member of ex-PM Victor Pontas inner circle, Sebastian Ghita is facing a number of charges, including bribe-giving, blackmail, influence peddling and driving without a license. In the same case, several other individuals have already been arrested, some of them from among law enforcement bodies, such as prosecutors Liviu Tudose and Aurelian Mihaila, the former state under-secretary with the Interior Ministry Viorel Dosaru and the former chief of the Prahova County Anti-Corruption Directorate, Constantin Ispas. Ghita denied the accusations and claimed the prosecutors are actually targeting Victor Ponta himself.
Deputy Sebastian Ghitas rise and fall have been equally spectacular. He was still a student when his IT and business skills made him a millionaire. The owner of a TV channel, a regular contractor of public works, he entered politics and became one of the stars of the group of young Social Democrats supporting Ponta, and a key member of the parliamentary committee overseeing the Romanian Intelligence Service. Once anti-corruption prosecutors started their investigations into his affairs, his empire came down like a sandcastle. He was expelled from the Social Democratic Party and from the parliamentary committee, and now the conditional bail terms prevent him from even contacting the employees of his TV station.
Also on Thursday, the Bucharest Tribunal ordered a 30-day pre-trial house arrest measure against the Mayor of Craiova, the Social Democrat Olguta Vasilescu. The previous day she had been taken in, under charges of bribe-taking, influence peddling to obtain undue benefits, and money laundering. This is a new blow dealt to the Social Democratic Party, which ranks the highest in opinion polls ahead of the local elections due in June. In the first election in post-communist Romania with mayors to be elected in one round, Olguta Vasilescu was very likely to secure a fresh term in office in a city where she is very popular. Anti-corruption prosecutors accuse her now, among other things, of having illegally used some 130,000 euros to finance her successful 2012 election campaign.
Manifestly displeased, her party chief Liviu Dragnea said her arrest should be a serious concern not only for the Social Democrats, but for all prospective candidates. He announced he would propose the publication of candidate guidelines, comprising a list of things that election candidates must not do in order not to end up behind bars. Some commentators welcome the idea, while others dismiss it as ridiculous and say the only rule to be followed is the biblical commandment “Thou shalt not steal!
