Romanian Anticorruption Prosecutors Hear Official In Privatizations File

Romanian anticorruption prosecutors heard Wednesday state adviser Dorinel Mucea with the country’s former Ministry of Economy and Commerce in a file concerning shady privatizations in the Romanian energy sector.

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In March this year, anticorruption prosecutors heard Bulgarian international consultant Stamen Stanchev – charged with treason by disclosure of information and espionage in connection with the privatization of certain large Romanian companies in the energy sector – alongside Radu Donciu, former adviser within the IT&C Ministry led at the time by Zsolt Nagy.

Stanchev, Mucea and Donciu allegedly paid large sums of money to Zsolt Nagy and former economy minister Codrut Seres targeting the privatization procedures of certain companies.

The criminal investigation in this case, the first involving international investment bankers in Romania since the nation's break with communism in 1990, involves eight former government and foreign company officials. The Romanian prosecutors accused them of “undermining Romania's national security” and economic espionage related to the sale of Romanian assets.

The privatizations trial started on April 20, 2007 and in the same month Stanchev, Mucea and Donciu were indicted on charges of treason.

Prosecutors considered Stanchev was the brains behind an industrial espionage network, whose goal was to obtain key documentation pertaining to the privatization of strategic industrial assets in order to win consultancy contracts.

The Supreme Court decided on January 23, 2007 to replace the preventive arrest measure with the measure banning Stanchev from leaving Romania, which has been monthly renewed ever since.

In 2005, the country’s intelligence service tapped the phone calls between Stanchev and Seres and looked into the arrangements regarding privatizations of Romania’s power distributor Electrica Muntenia, hydropower generator Hidroelectrica, airliners Romaero, Avioane Craiova, telecom operator Romtelecom and post office Posta Romana. Nagy was accused of treason and giving away state secrets.

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