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Tag: Bute Gala

  • The Week in Review, June 4-8

    The Week in Review, June 4-8

    Constitutional Court presents its statement of reasons for the dismissal of the head of the National Anticorruption Directorate


    On Thursday the Constitutional Court made public the statement of reasons behind its decision forcing president Klaus Iohannis to dismiss Laura Codruta Kovesi, the head of the National Anticorruption Directorate. The document points to the existence of a constitutional conflict generated by the president’s refusal to dismiss Kovesi. Court judges say that, under the Constitution, the Justice Minister has decision-making power over the activity of prosecutors, saying that he plays a key role in this procedure, also impacting the career of prosecutors. Additionally, the president does not have the constitutional power to oppose the Justice Minister’s proposal to remove Kovesi from Office. The Court’s decision has stirred harsh criticism from the opposition and civil society, fueling speculations that the Court’s decisions might be politically biased.



    Final sentence in the “Bute Gala” case


    The Bucharest-based High Court of Cassation and Justice on Tuesday issued a final ruling in the so-called “Bute Gala” case. The former Minister of Regional Development Elena Udrea was sentenced to six years in prison for bribe-taking and abuse of office. Udrea will also have to pay 3 million euros in damages. In the same case, the former president of the Romanian Boxing federation, Rudel Obreja, was sentenced to five years in prison, while the former Minister of Economy, Ion Artion, was acquitted. According to the National Anticorruption Directorate, Udrea was at the top of a system through which people in her entourage received money from certain companies, to guarantee them the payment, on time, of the works funded by the ministry she headed. Currently Elena Udrea is in Costa Rica where she has applied for political asylum.



    OLAF Report on European Funds Fraud


    Romania tops the classification of the countries with the highest number of investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office – OLAF in 2017. Romania is subject to 11 such investigations, eight of which resulted in recommendations. Illustrative of the situation are 2 investigations related to projects financed through the European fund for regional development. The representatives of a city hall, which was the beneficiary, made an understanding with the company that had drafted the engineering projects for the building of a road, according to which they established restrictive criteria in the documents to be used at the tender. This gave an advantage to a certain company, which actually won the tender, with the rest of the participants in the tender being rejected from the very start of the initial assessment stage. The sides involved forged a large number of documents, including the technical project of the road, OLAF concluded. The prejudice brought to the EU budget stands at 21 million euros.




    President Iohannis travelled to Poland, while Prime Minister Dancila had official talks in Lisbon


    Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis met his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda in Warsaw. The excellent bilateral relations, in particular in the economic and military areas, were highlighted on this occasion. Also, Iohannis and Duda attended the opening of the exhibition “A centenary of the Alliance. Romanian-Polish diplomacy 1918-1939.” The exhibition was organised by the Romanian Cultural Institute in Warsaw in collaboration with the Romanian Embassy and with support from the foreign ministries of the two countries, and forms part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of modern Romania and the centenary of Polish independence. Also this week, the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila travelled to Portugal. During talks with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and her counterpart Antonio Costa, Dancila proposed the creation of a roadmap as an operative working tool and means of stimulating common projects. The talks were aimed at intensifying economic relations and cooperation in the military field, as well as that of cyber security.



    Romania’s and Montenegro’s foreign ministers meet in Bucharest


    Romania views Montenegro as a friend, close partner and important ally in the region, said the foreign minister Teodor Melescanu during a joint press conference with his Montenegrin counterpart Srdan Darmanovic, who travelled to Bucharest on Tuesday. The Romanian foreign minister recalled that for Romania and the region, Montenegro’s accession to NATO, which Romania has constantly supported, contributes to a large extent to the security and stability of the area. The Montenegrin foreign minister was also received by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, who emphasised that the enlargement policy will feature on the agenda of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council and that during its term, Romania would be an active and constructive partner for the states in the Western Balkans.



    The Sovereign Fund for Investment


    The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Wednesday adopted a bill on the creation of the Sovereign Fund for Development and Investment. The Fund is a financing mechanism meant to identify investment opportunities that can lead to sustainable economic development and the creation of new jobs in the long run. The bill was adopted after the Chamber’s committee on economic policy introduced several amendments providing for an increase in the cash contribution to the equivalent of some 2 billion euros and the expansion of the list of economic operators. The Opposition says it will challenge the bill before the Constitutional Court and that it can undermine the national economy.

  • Court gives ruling in Bute Gala case

    Court gives ruling in Bute Gala case

    For Elena Udrea,
    a former development minister in the right-wing cabinet between 2008 and 2012,
    the situation took a turn for the worse with the announcement of the final
    sentence in the case known as the Bute Gala. The High Court of Cassation and
    Justice sentenced her to 6 years in prison and the payment of 3 million euros
    in damages. Udrea, who was indicted in April 2015, was found guilty for bribe
    taking and abuse of office.




    The former
    president of the Romanian Boxing Federation Rudel Obreja, who was also on
    trial, was sentenced to 5 years in prison, while the former economy minister
    Ion Ariton was acquitted. They were accused of illegally using public funds to
    finance a boxing match featuring the former boxing world champion Lucian Bute.
    The other persons indicted in the case and who pleaded guilty received
    suspended sentences. After hearing about the sentence, Udrea said there are
    judges and prosecutors who take their orders from the Intelligence Service
    generals. This is an old scenario of Udrea, according to whom the Romanian
    Intelligence Service, her favourite enemy, is out to get her.




    The case has
    reminded people why Udrea was considered the femme fatale of Romanian politics
    in her most influential days. The special relationship she had with the former
    president Traian Basescu was the springboard that helped her rise up to the
    position of cabinet minister. Political analysts even believed that she was the
    number one in the government, ahead of the docile prime minister Emil Boc,
    because of the influence she had over the former president, at a time when
    Romania was struggling with the world financial and economic crisis. In those
    days, between 2008 and 2012, the press was constantly writing about Udrea’s
    immense influence thanks to the position she held in the government, given that
    her ministry was responsible for the management of a lot of funds. The press used
    to write that she had the final say in many projects, including large-scale
    ones, and that her decisions generally favoured the local elected officials
    who, like her, were members of the now defunct Liberal Democratic Party.




    Elena Udrea has
    withdrawn from politics in recent years and now lives in Costa Rica, where she
    aspires to the status of political refugee. The Romanian police have requested
    a European arrest warrant and an international search warrant for Udrea. This
    may seem like an unfair destiny for Udrea, who recently told a Romanian
    publication that she did more for the country than 99% of Romanian
    politicians.

  • June 4, 2018 UPDATE

    June 4, 2018 UPDATE

    Rally — The leader of the Social Democratic Party, the main party in the governing coalition, and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea, announced the organization, on Saturday, of a rally against what they call abuses and violation of the rule of law principles. The Social Democrats point the finger to the existence of an illegitimate underground structure, which they generically called the ‘parallel state’ and which influences the decisions of the judiciary. On the eve of the rally, on Friday June 8 the High Court of Cassation and Justice might give its verdict in a case in which Dragnea is accused of corruption crimes. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate prosecutors asked the court for a sentence of 7 years and 5 months in prison for abuse of office and of 2 years and 6 months for intellectual forgery. They accuse Dragnea of having ordered the fictitious employment of two Social Democratic Party members at the Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection when he was president of the Teleorman county council. The two were paid from public money although they worked exclusively for the Social Democratic Party. In 2016, Dragnea received a definitive, suspended two-year sentence for attempted electoral fraud.



    Bute Gala— The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest might give its verdict in the so-called Bute Gala case on Tuesday. In this case the former minister of regional development Elena Udrea was sentenced, in a court of first instance, to 6 years in prison for bribe taking and abuse of office. She also has to pay around 3 million Euros worth of damages. In the same case, the former president of the Romanian Boxing Federation, Rudel Obreja, was sentenced to 5 years in prison while the former economy minister Ion Ariton was acquitted. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate prosecutors, Udrea coordinated a system through which people in her entourage received money from the representatives of certain companies, to guarantee them the payment, on time, of the works funded by the ministry she headed. Currently Elena Udrea is in Costa Rica where she has asked for political asylum.



    Chisinau — More than 100 mayors from the Republic of Moldova who have this year signed symbolic declarations for the union with neighboring Romania have called on the Romanian government and parliament to receive delegations from the unionist mayoralties and to set up an institution meant to coordinate their relationship. The signatories say the Romanian authorities have shown openness towards the issue and believe they have the moral right to ask for support from the state which they want to unite with. They also added that they would help gather signatures for the modification of the Romanian Constitution with the purpose of national reunion. The unionist mayors have made the appeal after, on Sunday, the candidate of the pro-European group Andrei Nastase won the early local elections for the Chisinau city hall after defeating the pro-Russian Socialist Ion Ceban.



    Motion — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Monday debated the simple motion tabled by the opposition Liberal Party against the Social Democrat minister of finance Eugen Teodorovici. Entitled ‘The fiscal mess of the Social Democrats and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats will leave you without pension money’, the motion accuses the lack of predictability of the government measures in the fiscal domain as well as their intention to render Pension Pillar 2 optional. In reply, minister Teodorovici said that all the modifications adopted this year were aimed at simplifying procedures and diminishing administration costs. The simple motion will receive the final vote on Wednesday in the plenum meeting of the Chamber of Deputies.



    Tennis — The Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, world’s no. 1 and 1st seed in Roland Garros, the year’s 2nd Grand Slam tournament, on Monday defeated the Belgian player Elise Mertens (16 WTA) 6-2, 6-1, in the eight finals. In the quarterfinals, Halep will play against the German Angelique Kerber (12 WTA) who defeated the French Caroline Garcia (7 WTA), 6-2, 6-3. Also on Monday in the women’s doubles the pair Mihaela Buzărnescu/Irina Maria defeated 6-4, 6-3 the American pair Jennifer Brady/Vania King thus reaching the quarterfinals. Next the Romanian pair will be up against the pair Hao-Ching Chan (Taiwan)/Zhaoxuan Yang (China), 8th seeded, who defeated the pair Sorana Cîrstea (Romania)/Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spain) in the eights finals 6-2, 6-4.



    Football — Romania’s national football team will take on the Finish eleven, on Tuesday, on home ground, in the southern city of Ploiesti, in a friendly match. Romania’s team, who failed to qualify to the World Cup this month, in Russia, played, last week, in Austria another friendly match against Chile, the en titre champion of South America, which they won 3-2. These are the last preparation matches of the Romanian footballers ahead of the newly created Nations League, where, in autumn, they will play in Group 4 of League C of the Nations’ League against Serbia, Montenegro and Lithuania. The match in Ploiesti is the last one for goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont (40) who played 85 times for the national team. (news translated and updated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • Sentence in “Bute Gala” case

    Sentence in “Bute Gala” case

    For Elena Udrea, a former Minister of Development in the right-of-centre Cabinet in 2008-2012, legal trouble got serious with the sentence she received in the court of first instance in what is known as the “Bute Gala case. The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest handed Udrea a six-year imprisonment sentence, also forcing her to pay damages of 3 million euros. Indicted in April 2015, Udrea was found guilty for bribe taking and abuse of office, while charges of forgery of documents under private signature for unlawfully obtaining European funds were dropped.



    Also prosecuted in the case were the former president of the Romanian Boxing Federation, Rudel Obreja, who got a five-year prison sentence, and former Economy Minister Ion Ariton, who was acquitted. Prosecutors accused the two of unlawfully using public funds to organize a boxing gala for the former world champion Lucian Bute. The other people indicted in the case admitted to their wrongdoings and got off with suspended prison sentences. Elena Udrea said the sentence is not just unfair, but an abuse and a “masquerade.



    The case once again confirms that the National Anticorruption Directorate, the object of constant praise by the European Commission as part of its annual reports on Romanias progress in the field of the judiciary, continues to do its job undisturbed. The conviction of Elena Udrea, a close political associate of former President Traian Basescu, is the latest in a series of investigations of high-profile officials from Romania, commonly seen as one of the most corrupt EU Member States. The special relation with president Basescu acted as a springboard, helping Udrea secure her seat in the Cabinet. Some political pundits even say that her influence with the President made her say weigh heavier than that of the acting Prime Minister back then, Emil Boc, at a time when Romania was struggling to emerge from economic recession.



    In 2008-2012 the Romanian media was permeated with stories of the huge leverage Udrea was holding as Minister of Development, overseeing the spending of hefty budgets. Udrea gave the green light to a number of smaller- or larger-scale projects, which more often than not were to the benefit of local elected officials from the ranks of her own party, the Liberal-Democratic Party, which in the meantime merged into the National Liberal Party. In recent years, Elena Udrea has taken a step back from politics, seemingly trying to cope with the legal consequences of her term in office.


    (translated by: Vlad Palcu)

  • March 28, 2017 UPDATE

    March 28, 2017 UPDATE

    DISTINCTION – President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is to receive Charles, Prince of Wales, in Bucharest on Wednesday, and award him with the “Star of Romania Order in the rank of Grand Cross. The agenda of the meeting will include the bilateral Strategic Partnership, the situation of the Romanian community in Britain after Brexit and the Princes substantial charity work in Romania. Although Charles was frequently in Romania over the past few years, this is only his second official visit. In 2016, he established an NGO in Romania, to help preserve the local heritage and encourage sustainable development.



    JUDICIARY – The Prime Minister of Romania, Sorin Grindeanu, said he had confidence in the assessment of the work of National Anti-Corruption Directorate chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi, and of Prosecutor General Augustin Lazăr. The assessment, conducted by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, and due to be made public on Wednesday, comes after the National Anti-Corruption Directorate started an investigation into the Cabinets endorsing the notorious Decree no. 13, which partly decriminalised abuse of office and which sparked the largest-scale protests in post-communist Romania.



    ANTI-CORRUPTION – The former minister for development Elena Udrea was sentenced to 6 years in prison and ordered to pay 3 million euros in damages in what is known as the Bute Gala case. She was sent to court in April 2015, under charges of bribe-taking, abuse of office and attempted use of false, inaccurate or incomplete documents, in order to unduly obtain European funds. Rudel Obreja, a former president of the Romanian Boxing Federation, was sentenced to five years in prison, while the ex-minister of economy Ion Ariton was acquitted in the same case. The defendants were accused of illegally using public funds in order to finance a boxing gala in which the former world champion Lucian Bute took part. The gala was organised by a private company, and under a contract signed with this company services were procured using EU funds, which is against the law.



    NATO – NATO Assistant Secretary General for Operations Patrick Turner said in Bucharest on Tuesday that Romania was one of the strongest allies in terms of implementing the commitments made at the Warsaw Summit last summer. The statement was made in a meeting of experts from NATO and partner countries on civil emergency situations. In turn, the Romanian state secretary with the Interior Ministry Raed Arafat pointed out that in Romania preparation for civil emergency situations was an ongoing process. The participants in the meeting, which is due to end on Wednesday, are looking into ways to improve the training of intervention forces in the case of natural disasters and hybrid threats.



    MEASLES – In Romania, nearly 4,000 measles cases had been reported until the end of last week, the National Centre for Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control announced on Tuesday. So far 17 deaths have been confirmed. To control the spreading of the disease, healthcare authorities are vaccinating children aged between 9 months and 9 years. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control also warns that, in spite of the measures taken so far, measles cases are still being reported in Romania.



    TOURISTS – 20 Romanian tourists, stranded in Mexico because of unexpected demonstrations, will be repatriated on April 4, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday. They contacted Romanias diplomatic mission in Ciudad de Mexico, after they got stuck trying to leave the southern Mexican state of El Camaron. The Romanian Embassy called for a police escort, which helped the Romanian tourists leave the area, the Foreign Ministry explained.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Nachrichten 13.03.2017

    Nachrichten 13.03.2017

    Ministerpräsident Sorin Grindeanu hat am Montag im Plenum der Abgeordnetenkammer die Verabschiedung der Eilverordnungen 6. und 9. der Regierung rechtfertigt. Die beiden Verordnungen waren von Opposition und Zivilgesellschaft scharf kritisiert worden. Beide Regierungsverordnungen sind bereits vom Senat gebilligt worden und sollen weiter von der Abgeordnetenkammer diskutiert werden. Die Abgeordnetenkammer verfügt in diesem Fall über Entscheidungsbefugnisse. Die Regierungsverordnung 6 betrifft die Finanzierung des Nationalen Programms für Regionalentwicklung und die Verordnung 9 schafft die Ausgaben-Obergrenze für öffentliche Behörden ab. Die oppositionelle national-liberale Partei erklärte, man könne mittels dieser Verordnungen riesige Summen an die politische Klientel der regierenden sozial-demokratischen Partei lenken. Zudem würden die Verordnungen Grundartikel des Steuerverantwortungs-Gesetzes aufheben. Die Liberalen forderten die Missbilligung der zwei Verordnungen. Der Regierungschef forderte die Abgeordneten im Gegenzug auf, das politische Kalkül beiseite zu legen und für das Wohl der Bürger zusammenzuarbeiten. Grindeanu hob ferner hervor, dass Rumänien in die Entwicklung investieren müsse, da über 60% der Haushalte in ländlichen Gebieten über keine Toiletten im Inneren der Häuser verfügten und der Zugang zu Bildung und Gesundheit Defizite aufweise.



    Der Senat hat am Montag eine Reihe von Änderungen am Gesetz über die Vollstreckung von Freiheitsstrafen und anderen Maßnahmen des Freiheitsentzugs vorgenommen. Demnach soll ein Häftling Anspruch auf mindestens vier Quadratmeter Raum in seiner Zelle haben. Strafgefangenen, denen weniger Platz zur Verfügung steht, sollen monatlich drei Tage von ihrer Gesamtstrafe abgezogen werden. Alle im Parlament vertretenen Parteien hatten den Gesetzentwurf unterstützt. Die Nationalliberale PNL und die Union Rettet Rumänien (USR) aus der Opposition stimmten laut eigenen Angaben ebenfalls für die Neuerungen. Für die Verbesserung der Lage in den rumänischen Vollzugsanstalten seien allerdings neue Gebäude und alternative Maßnahmen notwendig, wie etwa Hausarrest oder die Einführung von Armbändern, die die Ortung des Betroffenen möglich machen, so die Vertreter der Opposition.



    Der Justiz- und Kassationshof, das höchste Gericht in Rumänien, hat das Urteil im Verfahren zur sogenannten Bute-Gala“ für den 28. März vertagt. In dieser Akte werden die ehemalige Entwicklungsministerin Elena Udrea und weitere sieben Personen der Korruption beschuldigt. Diesen wird Annahme von Bestechungsgeldern, Amtsmissbrauch und die versuchte Verwendung von Falschurkunden und Falschaussagen für den unrechtmäßigen Erhalt von EU-Fonds vorgeworfen. Die Beschuldigten hätten öffentliche Fonds für die Finanzierung eines Sport-Events illegal benutzt. Das Sportereignis soll von einem privaten Unternehmen organisiert worden sein und laut dem Vertrag mit dem Unternehmen sollen Dienstleistungen mit EU-Geldern gekauft worden sein. Das ist allerdings gesetzlich verboten. Die Nationale Antikorruptionsbehörde DNA fordert auch eine Haftstrafe für den ehemaligen Finanzminister Ion Ariton. Gegen die ehemalige Entwicklungsministerin, Elena Udrea, wird in mehreren Akten ermittelt.



    Etwa 7500 Rumäninnen, die in der Landwirtschaft in der sizilianischen Provinz Ragusa arbeiten, sind zahlreichen Missbräuchen zum Opfer gefallen. Die Frauen werden zum Teil sexuell belästigt, ohne dass die Täter bestraft werden. Darüber hatte am Sonntag die britische Zeitschrift The Observer im Rahmen einer Reportage berichtet. Die britischen Reporter haben mit Dutzenden Rumäninnen, die auf den Farmen in Ragusa arbeiten, gesprochen und alle haben die sexuelle Ausbeutung und Belästigung als Routine bezeichnet. Die Frauen haben erzählt, man zwinge sie 12 Stunden am Tag, in extremer Hitze und ohne Wasser, zu arbeiten. Große Probleme gebe es auch bei der Lohnauszahlung. Die Unterkunfts-Bedingungen seien zudem sehr schlecht. Während der Arbeit werden die Frauen körperlich misshandelt und mit Waffen bedroht. Die Landwirtschaft Italiens basiert größtenteils auf Einwanderer, auch aus der EU. Im Süden Italiens arbeiten etwa 120 Tausend Einwanderer in der Landwirtschaft.


  • Elena Udrea wird in Korruptionsakte angeklagt

    Elena Udrea wird in Korruptionsakte angeklagt

    Die ehemalige Ministerin für Regionalentwicklung und Tourismus, Elena Udrea, wurde in der Akte Bute Gala“ von den Antikorruptionsstaatsanwälten angeklagt. Sie befindet sich derzeit in Untersuchungshaft. Das Verfahren kündigt sich an, eines derer in der Geschichte der rumänischen Justiz zu sein, die sich einer riesigen Medienberichterstattung erfreuen. Der Grund: Undrea gehört zu den Politikern, die der ehemalige Präsident Rumäniens Traian Băsescu ständig und vorbehaltslos unterstützt hat.



    Die 41-jährige Elena Udrea war nacheinander Leiterin der Präsidialkanzlei von Traian Băsescu, Abgeordnete und Führerin der Partei Volksbewegung — deren Kandidatin sie auch bei den Präsidentschaftswahlen im Herbst 2014 war. In vollem Aufschwung wurde sie diesen Februar verhaftet, nachdem die Antikorruptionsbehörde die Zustimmung des Parlaments zur Einleitung des Strafverfahrens gegen die Abgeordnete erlangt hatte. Udrea wird verdächtigt in Zusammenhang mit der sogenannten Bute Gala“ Korruptionstaten begangen zu haben.



    Konkret, 2011 trat der berühmte rumänische Mittelgewichtboxer und IBF-Weltmeister in einer Box-Gala in Bukarest gegen den Franzosen Jean Paul Mendy an. Die besagte Gala wurde damals massiv von dem Ministerium für Regionalentwicklung und Tourismus unterstützt. Die Gelder für die Veranstaltung der Gala wurden von Elena Udrea anscheinend illegal erlangt. Udrea soll au‎ßerhalb dieser Korruptionsakte auch in weiteren Schmiergeldaffären verwickelt sein, die mit der Finanzierung eines Vertrags mit der Gesellschaft Termogaz Company und den Zahlungen der Nationalen Investitionsgesellschaft in Zusammenhang stehen.



    In der Bute Gala“ treten auf der Bank der Angeklagten auch ex-Wirtschaftsminister Ion Ariton und der ehemalige Vorsitzende des Rumänischen Boxverbandes, Rudel Obreja, sowie weitere öffentliche Bedienstete aus der Zeit 2010-2012 auf. Die Antikorruptionsbehörde behauptet, dass die ehemalige Tourismusministerin ein System koordiniert hat, wodurch die nahestehenden Personen gro‎ße Gelbeträge von Vertretern einiger Firmen erhalten haben. Dadurch sollte man die rechtzeitige Zahlung der ministeriumfinanzierten Aufträge gewährleisten. Das Geld soll in bar, durch den Erwerb einiger Gegenstände und Dienstleistungen zu Elena Udrea, zu Rudel Obreja oder zu der Bukarester Niederlassung der Liberal-Demokratischen Partei angelangt sein, deren Führerin Elena Udrea damals war.



    Dadurch entstand ein beträchtlicher Schaden beim Staatshaushalt und bei einigen Firmen. Laut den Ermittlern, seien die Zahlungen zugunsten der Bukarester Niederlassung der Liberal-Demokratischen Partei auf unterschiedlichen Weisen erfolgt sein, einschlie‎ßlich durch die Überweisung der Beträge auf das Konto der Partei, getarnt als fiktive Verträge oder Spenden. Udrea hat aber die ganze Zeit behauptet, die Beträge stammen von Spendern, die anonym bleiben wollten.