The Sebastian Ghita case

Former MP and controversial businessman Sebastian Ghita has been caught

Ştefan Stoica, 14.04.2017, 13:15

Romanian businessman Sebastian Ghita, named on Europe’s most wanted fugitives list was arrested on Thursday night in Belgrade, almost four months after he was reported missing on December 21st. On January 10th, Romania’s Supreme Court issued a European arrest warrant on Ghita’s name who was also wanted by Interpol.

According to the Romanian Police, when he was caught Sebastian Ghita presented a fake Slovenian ID. He was arrested following an extensive international operation. The Romanian Police thanked law enforcement institutions in Serbia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Montenegro, Croatia, Austria, Italy and France as well as to its Romanian partners for their contribution to arresting the fugitive.

The controversial businessman and former Parliament member disappeared on December 20th, 2016 after breaking the terms of the judicial control. The police agents that were monitoring Ghita lost sight of him when he was heading home during the night, driving his car on a national road by over 200 km/hour.

The police agents said another car blocked their vehicle thus helping Ghita escape. The car that Gita was driving was later spotted in front of his house, so the police believed he was at home, sleeping. Sebastian Ghita’s emergence on Romania’s public scene was nothing but spectacular.

The young businessman became, via his IT firm, a favourite to winning contracts with the state, which are the most profitable ones, and a close ally of prolific politicians, such as the former PM Victor Ponta. His connections extended to include the exclusive circles of intelligence services.

Pundits do not rule out the scenario according to which Sebastian Ghita is the creation of the intelligence services, which eventually lost control over him. Ghita’s statements regarding his relationship with the formed deputy chief of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), Florian Coldea, cost the latter his job.

Ghita also tried to also cast suspicion on the chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) Laura Codruta Kovesi, but she denied any connection with the businessman. On the other hand, Sebastian Ghita learned from his famous predecessors Dan Voiculescu and Sorin Ovidiu Vantu, who are now behind bars, that he can achieve great influence on the public scene if he has the media backing him.

So Ghita financed a TV news station with tabloid accents that targeted mainly his enemies and the enemies of his friends. Sebastian Ghita is very familiar with the courts too.

He was prosecuted in two criminal cases, one that also involved former heads of the Police and Prosecutor’s Office in Prahova county and another one in which the former mayor of Ploiesti, Iulian Badescu, was also involved.

Ghita is also prosecuted in another two corruption cases, one regarding the visit to Romania of former British PM Tony Blair in 2012. In the second case Ghita was investigated alongside Iulian Hertanu, the brother in law of the former PM Victor Ponta, accused of fraud with European funds and other offences.