Romanian Court Puts Off Ex PM’s Corruption Trial For Jun 16

Nastase’s lawyers requested a postponement in the trial, claiming they could not formulate exceptions prior to the trial of the case, since they were unable to entirely copy the CDs submitted as evidence.

At the same time, the lawyer of co-defendant Irinei Jianu requested a postponement in the trial, in order to find, in the case files, an ordinance from December 2008, where Jianu is informed that an expertise request has been rejected.

Following the conclusion of proceedings, Adrian Nastase gave journalists a legal technical expertise in the case "Flota". According to Nastase, the expertise shows that current Romanian president, who during the timeframe relevant in the case was transport minister, allegedly caused the Romania state losses of over $80 million.

Nastase said the expertise is mad public for the first time. He added this document could help people understand why president Traian Basescu is trying at all costs to obtain another mandate as president.

Asked about his reaction to the charges brought against him by anticorruption prosecutors, Nastase qualified them as "trash" and the case is a political construction. Nastase concluded saying that had George Bush been in his place at the helm of the Social Democratic Party when the case started, the it would have been George Bush on trial today.

On January 20, anticorruption prosecutors indicted Nastase on charges of influence-peddling while leading the country’s leftist Social Democratic Party, or PSD.

Nastase, alongside five other people indicted in the “Construction Quality Trophy”, will be tried before the High Court of Justice.

Prosecutors accused Nastase of using his authority as head of the social democrats to obtain illegal assets and money.

In 2004, the Romanian State Inspectorate in Constructions (ISC), run by defendant Irina Jianu, initiated a symposium called “Construction Quality Trophy”. The symposium was in fact a screen to gather funds for Nastase’s presidential campaign, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, Nastase and the other five defendants in the case allegedly caused total damages to the Constructions Inspectorate worth 6,961,155.2132 lei (EUR1=RON 4.1762).

The Constructions Inspectorate is civilian party in the case.

Last year, the Romanian Parliament rejected a request from prosecutors to investigate corruption allegations against Nastase. Early February, lawmakers again rejected the start of criminal proceedings in a corruption case against Nastase.

Chamber of Deputies speaker Roberta Anastase said early this week the Chamber standing office will postpone a decision on the approval of criminal proceedings against Nastase, to give the Chamber time to amend regulations and allow prosecution of former ministers with the votes of a simple majority, instead of the currently required two third majority.

 

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