Radio România Internațional

Tag: money laundering

  • September 7, 2024

    September 7, 2024

    CYBERCRIME Two crime rings specialized in IT crimes and money laundering have been dismantled in a joint operation involving the Romanian prosecutors from the Direction of Fighting Organised Crime and Terrorism, DIICOT, and the legal authorities in the United States of America. A specialized network made up of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens was set up in California in 2021. By means of sophisticated equipment, the network used to copy data from cards belonging to US citizens, which they used to extract cash. The total damage caused stood at over one million dollars and part of the money went to Romania by means of money transfer systems or among the goods transported by couriers. In Romania, members of a second group, specialized in money laundering, took over the money investing it. Tens of thousands Euros and dollars have been identified and seized during various search operations conducted in Romania.

     

    JUDO Romanian athlete Florin-Alexandru Bologa has walked away with gold from the judo competition for blind people part of the 2024 summer Paralympics in Paris. Bologa boasts four consecutive titles being a defending European and world champion. Besides his gold, Romania is going to win another medal in Paris, as Camelia Ciripan has made it to the semifinals of the women’s single table tennis contest. The Romanian is going to take on Maria Litovcenko of Ukraine on Saturday.

     

    FILM ‘The New Year that Never Came’ directed, written and produced by Romanian film director Bogdan Muresanu has been awarded two prizes at the International Film Festival in Venice: the FIPRESCI award offered by the jury of the International Federation of Film Critics and Bisato d’Oro 2024 for the best script offered by independent film critics. ‘The film culminates with a profound exploration of human behavior influenced by the fear of political reprisals, shared by several generations who lived under a totalitarian regime. We appreciate this film for its focused political vision, the sophisticated and dynamic plot, the balanced tones and exceptional cast” – the FIPRESCI jury said. DoP Boroka Biro got the special mention for picture Premio Autrici under 40 ‘Valentina Pedicini’, an award which acknowledges the talent of a director under 40 years old for a remarkable performance in film direction, script or picture.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football side secured a 3-0 win against Kosovo in Pristina on Friday night, the first game in their Nations League’s Group C2. In the same group, Cyprus clinched a one-nil win against Lithuania. These are the national side’s first matches with the former Romanian football legend and great coach, Mircea Lucescu, at the helm. Lucescu went back to the national side after 38 years. He also coached Romania’s national eleven between 1981 and 1986, when they qualified for the European Championships in France in 1984. At that time only eight European sides used to go to the final tournament. Under the guidance of Lucescu, numerous football clubs from Romania, Turkey and Ukraine won their national championships. Another side that he coached Galatasaray Istanbul claimed the UEFA Cup in the year 2000. At the age of 79 Lucescu is the oldest headcoach of a national football side.

     

    (bill)

     

  • July 18, 2023 UPDATE

    July 18, 2023 UPDATE

    SUMMIT Romania’s efforts to mitigate the effects of the humanitarian and
    food crisis caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine was one of the topics
    discussed by president Klaus Iohannis at the the EU – Latin America summit held
    in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday. In his addresses during the meeting, the
    Romanian official praised the organisation of this summit as a necessary
    moment of reconnection of regional communities with largely converging
    interests and approaches, the Romanian Presidency says. Klaus Iohannis stated
    that Romania firmly supported dialogue and constructive cooperation with the
    partners in the region, as well as regular top-level meetings between
    representatives of the 2 blocs. President Iohannis also presented Bucharest’s views on the most
    efficient measures to fight climate change. He pleaded for the concentration
    of bilateral cooperation both on the more efficient combating of the risks
    entailed by climate change, and on capitalising on the clean energy transition
    as a new shared opportunity. The Romanian president also presented Romania’s
    outlook on the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the
    multidimensional support provided by Romania and the importance of joint action
    in order to defend a rule-based international order. On the sidelines of the
    summit, the Romanian official had a meeting with the head of the Community of
    Latin-American and Caribbean States, Ralph Gonsalves, to discuss strengthening
    the relations between Romania and the countries in that region.


    ROMANIA – MEXICO Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu had talks
    with her Mexican counterpart Alicia Barcena Ibarra on Monday on the sidelines
    of the EU-CELAC summit. Talks focused on giving a new impetus to bilateral
    relations, including by top level contact, identifying new areas of sectoral
    cooperation, the presentation of Romania’s position on Russia’s military
    aggression against Ukraine and an exchange of views on the future of EU-Mexico
    relations. The areas in which Romania is seeking to improve cooperation with
    Mexico include civil protection, cyber security and boosting economic ties with
    emphasis on enhancing investments. The talks also highlighted the importance of
    the Romanian community in Mexico and the support given by Romania in the
    evacuation of Mexican nationals from Ukraine.


    GRAIN NATO’s
    deputy secretary general Mircea Geoană condemned, in a Facebook post, Russia’s
    unilateral decision to pull out of the agreement that had guaranteed Ukraine’s
    grain exports via the Black Sea for the past year. In spite of the efforts of
    the UN and Turkey, the 4-party agreement signed by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and
    the UN expired at midnight on Monday, after it was last extended for 2 months
    in May. Russia declined a new extension of the deal signed on July 22 last year,
    on grounds of the obstacles faced by the trade in Russian agricultural
    products. The last shipment of agricultural products from Ukraine via the Black
    Sea was inspected on Monday night in Istanbul, a few hours before the expiry of
    the international agreement. The EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borell also
    condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the agreement which, in spite of
    the war, allowed the export of over 3 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain and
    agricultural products.


    MONEY LAUNDERING Moneyval calls on Romanian authorities to
    strengthen its measures to counter money laundering and terrorism financing, reads
    a report released on Tuesday by the Council of Europe’s monitoring body on
    money laundering. Since 2014, when MONEYVAL last evaluated Romania, the country
    has taken a number of actions to strengthen its legal and institutional
    framework to tackle money laundering and the financing of terrorism. According
    to Moneyval, Bucharest has achieved moderate levels of effectiveness in all
    areas assessed except for international cooperation, where it has achieved a
    substantial level of effectiveness and has been commended by other countries
    for its constructive assistance. Romania has improved its ability to freeze,
    seize and confiscate the proceeds and instrumentalities of domestic crime, the
    report also says.


    FOOTBALL The
    Romanian Football Federation Tuesday announced submitting its candidacy for
    organising the 2026 or 2027 Europa League final on the National Arena in
    Bucharest. After having successfully organised the EURO 2020 and this year’s
    Under-21 European Championship matches, the Federation seeks to continue
    promoting Romania as a destination for major sports events, reads a news
    release posted on the Federation’s official website. EURO 2020 brought us the
    largest public investments in infrastructure, a solid heritage that influences
    the development of Romanian football. Also, the Romanian Football Federation
    has proved that it has developed its organisational capacity and it is a
    competitive partner for UEFA in the European football circuit, and now we aim
    to move to a new stage, one fostering further development for Romanian
    football, the RFF president Răzvan Burleanu said. The National Arena has
    already hosted a Europa League final in 2012, when Atletico Madrid defeated
    Athletic Bilbao 3-0. For the next 2 years, the hosts of the Europa League final
    are already known: Dublin (Irland), in 2024, and Bilbao (Spain), in 2025. (AMP)

  • Microsoft case, again in the spotlight

    Microsoft case, again in the spotlight

    The Microsoft case, which the Romanian media at some point described as one of the most spectacular in the judicial history of post-communist Romania, has taken an unexpected turn, at least from the point of view of public opinion. Charges were dropped against six former ministers prosecuted for abuse of office allegedly perpetrated in 2003-2004, because the statute of limitations had expired.



    The officials in question are the former education ministers Ecaterina Andronescu and Alexandru Athanasiu, the former finance minister Mihai Tanasescu, the former government secretary general Serban Mihailescu and the former communications ministers Dan Nica and Adriana Ticau. In the case of a seventh person, the former education minister Daniel Funeriu, charges were dropped and his case closed because the memo bearing his signature had no legal effects.



    The ministers in question were investigated by the National Anticorruption Directorate for initiating or supporting government orders awarding a public procurement contract to a private company. Anti-corruption prosecutors say this company was considered, with no justification in reality, as the sole provider of Microsoft licences in Romania, so no public tender was therefore held.



    Former tennis player turned businessman Dinu Pescariu and another businessman, Claudiu Florica, were also indicted in this case for money laundering. The two are accused of laundering 22 million dollars through their companies. They pocketed some of the money themselves, while the rest went to high-ranking state officials.



    The case essentially concerns contracts for the purchase of IT licences for schools at inflated prices, signed under different governments of different political orientations. The damage to the state was huge, 70 million dollars.



    The whole case raises questions about the competence of the National Anticorruption Directorate, a body with a very good reputation among the pubic on account of its resounding victories in court and the praise heaped on it by the European Commission.



    Despite its unexpected ending, the Microsoft case can still be considered a telling example of a widespread practice in Romania: the awarding of preferential contracts. The case also reveals a profoundly toxic system in which politicians and businesspeople join hands to pursue their own financial interests, while political parties plant their own people in the higher echelons of the administration.


    (translated by: Cristina Mateescu)

  • April 20, 2016

    April 20, 2016

    Official visit – The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, will be on an official visit to Romania on Thursday. He will have meetings in Bucharest with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis and with PM Dacian Cioloş. In February, the two presidents had a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich International Security Conference. The talks highlighted the progress made in several bilateral areas and the willingness of both sides to make headway in implementing the ongoing joint projects. The last high-level meeting took place on March 17, 2015, when Klaus Iohannis travelled to Kyiv.




    Eurovision – Romania risks being excluded from the Eurovision, unless it immediately pays over 9 million euros to the European Broadcasting Union, the organiser of this European song contest. The Romanian public television corporation, which is experiencing severe financial difficulties, has accrued debts of nearly 15 million euros since 2011. Recently, the management of the public broadcaster announced the Romanian authorities that apart from Eurovision there are other major competitions, such as the forthcoming European football championship in France or the Rio Olympics, which might not be covered because of the debts and under-financing. According to its annual report, in 2015 the Romanian television corporation had losses of over 5 million euros. This year Eurovision will be held in Stockholm, between May 10 and 14. Romania, which has been taking part in the competition since 1994, is to be represented by Ovidiu Anton, with a song called “Moment of Silence.



    Judicial cooperation – The Romanian Justice Minister, Raluca Prună, and her Spanish counterpart, Rafael Catala Polo, discussed on Wednesday in Bucharest the efficiency of the judicial systems of the two states, the organisation of courts, the strengthening of the prison infrastructure. The two officials also discussed aspects related to the judicial cooperation in criminal and civil matters. On Tuesday, Rafael Catala Polo had a meeting with the Romanian Foreign Minister, Lazăr Comănescu. They discussed the situation of the Romanians who live in Spain and apply for dual citizenship and the two countries joint project regarding the establishment of an International Court against Terrorism.



    Judiciary – Romanias former right-wing president, Traian Băsescu, has been charged with a continuing offence of money laundering in a case prosecuted by the Office of the Prosecutor General. According to judicial sources, the case is related to land transactions in the Bucharest area. In 2000, when he was mayor general of Bucharest, Traian Băsescu purchased a substantially under-priced plot of land, which he subsequently sold for a lot more money. The ex-president confirmed, on his Facebook account, that he had been notified by the Prosecutor General of his being a suspect in a money laundering case. He mentioned however that in 2012 the criminal charges against him had been dropped. The case was re-opened in 2015.




    Stock Market – The Bucharest Stock Exchange, jointly with various brokerage firms, promoted Romania as an investment destination to the global investors taking part in the annual conference in New York. These efforts are aimed at improving knowledge of the Romanian capital market and at attracting new capital flows into the national economy. Taking part in the New York conference were 45 investors, representing 31 investment funds which manage a combined 1,100 billion US dollars. A total of 15 companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange had separate meetings with fund administrators.




    Defence – The defence ministers of Romania, Bulgaria and Greece have recently agreed in Luxembourg that their countries should take steps to strengthen cooperation in the field. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. The three ministers also discussed aspects related to the migration crisis and to the security structure, and agreed that joint action is required in order to handle the inflow of refugees.




    NATO-Russia – NATO and Russia today resume ambassador contacts after two years of tensions generated by the Ukrainian crisis and Moscows annexation of Crimea in 2014. The Alliances Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said the talks would tackle the implementation of the Minsk peace agreements, regarding the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, as well as means to prevent future incidents between NATO member countries and Russia, such as the recent one in the Baltic region, when Russian planes were too close to American vessels and aircraft. At Moscows request, terrorism was also included on the agenda.




    Media Freedom – World press freedom declined in all regions in 2015, particularly in the two Americas, according to the annual report made public by Reporters without Borders today. Romania ranks 49. The country with the highest press freedom rates are Finland, the Netherlands and Norway. At the opposite pole are Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea. The World Press Freedom Index covers 180 countries, has been published since 2002 and takes into account aspects like pluralism, mass media independence, self-censorship, the legislative framework, transparency, infrastructure and abuse.

  • The IMF and the fight against tax evasion

    The IMF and the fight against tax evasion

    Finance ministers from the G20 leading economies who gathered in Washington DC last week for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank agreed on a crackdown on international tax dogging, in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal. The Group has unanimously agreed that transparency in managing international finances is the only efficient instrument in fighting tax evasion, money laundering and the financing of terrorism. We remind you that an investigation conducted jointly by around one hundred publications worldwide has exposed the offshore holdings of an impressive number of politicians, celebrities and criminals.



    These giant leaks of offshore financial records, exposing a global array of corruption and crime, have been grouped under the name of Panama Papers. Against this background, the G20 countries have agreed that secrecy around offshore companies will be lifted and an international blacklist of tax havens will be drawn up. The Group has called on the OECDs Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes to take some measures, by October, which should ease states access to information on the identity of the people hiding behind shell companies in tax havens.



    The IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, hailed the initiative, saying that international efforts to fight tax evasion have been constant in the past few years. Lagarde has said: The IMF very strongly welcomes and supports this new momentum to fight corruption and tax evasion… we at the IMF will question whether the technical assistance that we provide to anti-money laundering and to counter-terrorism financing can be better leveraged to identify what more is needed in terms of implementation.



    According to NGOs and the media, the amounts hidden in tax havens between 2008 and 2014 exceed the GDP of Spain, Russia and South Korea put together. In Romania, authorities have decided to open an investigation into the Romanian citizens whose names are mentioned in the Panama Papers. Over 100 natural persons and companies are currently investigated.


    (Translated by E. Enache)

  • Statements on the Independence of the Judiciary

    Statements on the Independence of the Judiciary

    Sent to court for forgery of private documents, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering in a case involving legal assistance contracts signed by the Turceni and Rovinari power companies in the south, the Social Democrat PM Victor Ponta continues to claim his innocence and to deny both the charges, and the Oppositions and President Iohannis calls for his resignation.



    The disputes on the topic are far from being over. As long as Ponta remains the head of the government, the state might stand to lose, said the chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, in a talk show on a private TV channel. Kovesi explained that in the lawsuit against the PM, the Oltenia Power Company does not take part as a plaintiff because it is under the authority of the government, and implicitly of the PM.



    Laura Codruta Kovesi: “This is not the first case in which a public institution is headed by the same person that is sent to court as a defendant, and we have this problem, that the public institution in question will not bring civil action against that person. Magistrates, for instance, get suspended from office when they are sent to court, and I think the same rule ought to apply to the other civil servants in public institutions, because in such cases where the state does bring civil action against a person, it is obviously the state that will incur losses.



    On the other hand, the chief anti-corruption prosecutor denied the Prime Ministers claims that his indictment was the result of political interference. In a separate statement to another television station, Victor Ponta hinted that President Klaus Iohannis was behind this decision:



    Victor Ponta: “Im wondering whether the President resorted to all this pressure to have me indicted, because I think the statements he has made are not suitable for a president of Romania. If he says he is happy with be being sent to court, then perhaps he has his reasons.



    The President had previously stated that the passing of the no-confidence motion tabled by the Liberals in Opposition would solve a major problem that Romania is facing, namely having a prime minister who is facing criminal charges. The Presidents chief of staff, Dan Mihalache, was also quick to reply to the Prime Ministers allegations: “The Presidency will not get into this kind of low-level squabble, because we have work to do. If Mr. Ponta has doubts regarding the independence of the judiciary, he may report them to the Judicial Control Corps, Mihalache said.

  • September 21, 2015 UPDATE

    September 21, 2015 UPDATE

    The ruling coalition in Romania Monday decided to continue to support the Social Democrat Victor Ponta as PM. His situation was analysed by the National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition, after on Thursday the anti-corruption prosecutors formally indicted him for offences committed prior to his appointment as prime minister, when he was a lawyer. Victor Ponta faces charges of forgery, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering, in a corruption case involving contracts signed by the Turceni and Rovinari power companies. Ponta has repeatedly denied the charges. Meanwhile, the National Liberal Party, the main opposition party in Romania, Monday tabled a no-confidence motion on the governments lack of credibility as a result of Prime Minister Victor Pontas legal problems. The motion will be read out in Parliament on Wednesday, and the vote is scheduled for September 29. For the motion to pass, it needs 276 votes in Parliament. The proceedings against the prime minister and four other individuals, including the Social Democrat Senator Dan Sova, were initiated on Monday at Romanias Supreme Court.



    A joint meeting of the cabinets of Romania and the Republic of Moldova will be held on Tuesday in the Romanian Black Sea resort of Neptun. According to a news release issued by the Romanian government, special attention will be given to ways to carry on energy infrastructure projects, to ensure the inter-connection of the national electricity and natural gas systems. Other joint projects, in the field of transportation, agriculture, healthcare and education, will also be discussed. During the joint meeting, talks will also focus on the financial difficulties that the Republic of Moldova is experiencing, on Chisinaus efforts to stabilise the banking system and to sign an agreement with the IMF. On the other hand, Romania will reiterate its strong support for Moldovas European accession efforts.



    The Romanian deputy PM and Interior Minister, Gabriel Oprea, takes part on Tuesday in Brussels in an extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council focusing on the migration issue. He announced that Romania stands by its position as regards the number of migrants it can receive, namely 1,785 people, and if a vote is held, Romania will vote against mandatory relocation quotas. On Wednesday, also in Brussels, a special summit of the EU heads of state and government will be held, in an attempt to find solutions to the current migrant crisis in Europe. Many EU countries, particularly the central and east-European ones, oppose the mandatory redistribution of the 160 thousand migrants. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on EU leaders to share the responsibility for the most serious migration crisis since the Second World War.



    The Romanian authorities are making preparations for the possible arrival of refugees in Romania. According to the interior ministry, an exercise is carried out in the western county of Timis, near the border with Serbia, related to the creation of temporary refugee camps. These military-type shelters are guarded by security forces and may accommodate hundreds of people. Meanwhile, the Romanian interior ministry Monday tabled a bill imposing harsher penalties for migrant smugglers. The bill increases the minimum penalty from 3 to 5 years in prison and the maximum one from 10 to 12 years. The proceeds from people trafficking operations are also to be seized. This initiative is designed to deter the recruitment, transport and people smuggling across the Romanian border.



    Romanias president Klaus Iohannis Monday received the new US ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, who also had a meeting with the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu. According to the Foreign Ministry, the two discussed the bilateral political and military cooperation, means to broaden the economic cooperation, and aspects related to regional stability and security, with a focus on developments in Romanias neighbouring regions. Hans Klemm said that during his term he would focus on developing Romanian-American economic ties and providing assistance to Romania in the fight against corruption. Mark Gittenstein was the latest US ambassador to serve in Romania, his term ending in December 2012. Since then, the US embassy in Bucharest has been run by a charge daffaires.



    The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker Monday called on the radical left-wing Syriza partys Alexis Tsipras, elected PM on Sunday, to maintain the stability of the country and comply with the reform calendar undertaken by Greece. Alexis Tsipras left-wing Syriza party won Sundays early elections in Greece, and will have 145 out of the 300 seats in Parliament, according to the final vote count. The Conservative leader Vangelis Meimarakis, Tsipras main rival, whose party will have 75 seats in Parliament, has conceded defeat. Alexis Tsipras said he would try to form a new ruling coalition together with the small right-wing Independent Greeks Party (10 seats in Parliament) in order to implement Greeces third bailout agreed in July in exchange for 86 billion euros.