EXCLUSIVE: Romanian Businessman Detained Based On Evidence From Cyprus, Indonesia

Romanian prosecutors Thursday detained businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vantu after information provided by authorities in Cyprus and Indonesia last week showed Vantu was transferring money to fraud-convict Nicolae Popa, who fled the country after being sentenced to 15 years in prison.

70 views

Evidence shows money transfers were made with the help of two intermediaries, Vantu's driver Alex Stoian, who was also detained for 24 hours, and Octavian Turcan.

Romanian authorities had asked Cypriot and Indonesian authorities to hear several people and get information regarding bank transactions relevant to the case.

Vantu was detained for 24 hours and is accused of having helped Popa flee the country after the latter was sentenced to jail time in the case of the collapse of the National Investment Fund (FNI).

On December 2, Popa was arrested in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the Romanian Justice Ministry sent Indonesian authorities a request to extradite Popa.

Jakarta Globe reported in its online edition in February, citing the Indonesian police, that Indonesia's Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar had given local police the green light to extradite Popa, adding the procedure was pending approval from the Indonesia president.

Indonesia does not have an extradition treaty with Romania. The 1979 Extradition Law states that the requesting country must make an official extradition request to the Justice Ministry through diplomatic channels, and if no extradition treaty exists between Indonesia and the requesting country, the president can decide on the matter.

In June 2008, Ioana Maria Vlas, sentenced to 10 years in prison for fraud and abuse of office in the same case, Popa and companies SOV Invest and Gelsor were sentenced by the Bucharest Court to pay about 60,000 lei (EUR1=RON4.2821) to investors in the bankrupt fund.

More than 100,000 people lost money they had invested in FNI, and the Romanian state, which had guaranteed their investments, was forced to pay out compensation of more than EUR100 million.

If you liked this story, please follow MEDIAFAX.RO on FACEBOOK »

The content of mediafax.ro is for your information only. Republishing or using this content is forbidden without express consent of MEDIAFAX. For this consent, please ask for it by mail at vanzari@mediafax.ro.