Romanian Arges FC Owner Cornel Penescu Remains Under Arrest

The Court of Appeals also decided to refund the 200,000 lei (EUR1=RON4.1786) Penescu’s family deposited as bail.

During the proceedings, prosecutors with the Pitesti Anticorruption Department asked the judges to reject the appeal, on the grounds that inquiries have developed in Penescu’s case, and there is another charge – initiating or creating an organized crime group or joining or supporting such a group.

Also on Friday, the Court of Appeals approved the request of Liviu Facaleata, manager of Pitesti firm Pic, who is investigated in the same football corruption case, to postpone the hearing of his appeal against the Arges Court’s decision to deny his temporary release under judicial control.

Facaleata’s argument was that his attorneys could not attend the trial. The Court of Appeals will hear his case on June 1.

In the refereeing corruption trial, on April 14 anticorruption prosecutors arrested football club FC Arges financer Cornel Penescu, suspended Central Referee Committee president Gheorghe Constantin, PIC hypermarket general manager Liviu Facaleata, as well as the former director od the Arges County Consumer Protection Office, Cristian Libertatu. Cornel Penescu and Liviu Facaleata are charged with offering bribe, while Gheorghe Constantin and Cristian Libertatu are charged with taking bribe.

On May 11, the Arges Court decided to discontinue the arrest warrants, but anticorruption prosecutors appealed, and one day later the Pitesti Court of Appeals allowed the action, thus the defendants remained under arrest for at least 30 days.