The challenges of reporting on Romania’s corruption
As 2016 drew to a close, Romanians elected a new government. A month later, that government came under serious pressure after issuing an emergency decree about corruption. It was not a crackdown; it was the opposite. The government wanted to ease up on the fight…
Romanian Ex-Minister Sentenced to Six Years for Bribery
Urdea, a former presidential candidate and close political ally of former president Traian Basescu, was convicted on charges of bribery and abuse of office and was ordered to pay more than eight million lei (US$ 1.89 million) in damages. She was acquitted on a third…
Former general director of Romania’s Electrica charged with bribery
Ioan Folescu, the former general director of the Romanian group Electrica, the largest electricity distributor and supplier in the local market, was placed under judicial control for 60 days in a case of bribery, according to the National Anticorruption Directorate…
Romania: 2,000 march in support of anti-corruption fight
Protesters assembled outside government offices Sunday evening and later marched through the capital, waving Romanian flags yelling “Resignation!” and “We won’t give up!” and “You thieves!” The protest came after weeks of…
2,000 march in support of anti-corruption fight in Romania
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA—About 2,000 people have gathered in the Romanian capital to offer support to the anti-corruption authority and protest a proposal to grant amnesty to prisoners convicted of graft. Protesters assembled outside government offices Sunday evening and…
Romanians take to the streets to support anti-corruption officials
Bucharest (dpa) – Thousands of Romanians took to the streets of the capital Bucharest on Sunday night to show their support for anti-corruption prosecutors, as the country continues to deal with the fallout from a controversial cabinet decree. Local media…
Following victory in Romania, the battle against corruption must go on
A victory over corruption every now and then can provide a false sense of assurance that graft, bribery and fraud are on the retreat. This may be the temptation among good government advocates now that Romania has rescinded a controversial decree that threatened to…
Five things Europe could learn from the protests in Romania
There is an ancient proverb that goes: “when the wind of change blows, some people build walls, others build windmills”. In the case of Europe, the wind of change happened to blow these past weeks on its outskirts: Romania saw its biggest demonstrations since the fall…
From Romania to France, protests against “corrupt politicians”
Hundreds rallied in Paris on Sunday to protest against corruption and a presidential campaign marred by legal scandals. Placards called for an end to the privileges of the ruling class , echoing claims of the French Revolution. Many of the slogans specifically…
New Romanian justice minister named after anti-corruption protests
Bucharest (dpa) – Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has named a former judge to be the country‘s next justice minister, after the previous office holder resigned under pressure from mass anti-corruption protests. Tudorel Toader, a part-time lawyer who once…
Romania’s corruption decree ditched for good
Bucharest (AFP) – Romanian MPs voted Tuesday to definitively shelve a controversial decree that had sought to water down anti-corruption legislation but ended up unleashing the nation’s biggest protests in a quarter-century. The left-leaning government had…
As Romania’s Crisis Continues, Spotlight on Corruption
Over the past two weeks, Romania has seen Eastern Europe’s largest protests since the fall of communism in 1989.The demonstrations center on corruption, and they continue even after the government survived a no-confidence vote. For the West, the crisis…
Romania: Protests after Parliament oks anti-graft referendum
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s Parliament agreed Monday to hold a referendum on public support for fighting official corruption, a move that failed to appease anti-government protesters who demonstrated in the capital and other Romanian cities. All 310…
Romanians take a stand against corruption
The Romanian people have spoken with a resounding NO to their government’s attempt to decriminalize bribery and corruption within their country. The law’s repeal had been accomplished by a new ruling party, which not only wanted to decriminalize such heinous…
Huge protests force Romania’s government to reverse itself on corruption
AFTER just three weeks in power, Romania’s new prime minister, Sorin Grindeanu, could look out of his window and see a huge crowd carrying banners reading: “You have succeeded in uniting us”. Unfortunately for Mr Grindeanu, they did not mean it in a good way. For over…
Romania government scraps corruption decree after protests
Romania’s government has scrapped a controversial decree that would have shielded many politicians from prosecution for corruption. The decision came at an emergency meeting on the issue, following days of large street protests. One of those behind the move said…
Romanians rally in biggest anti-corruption protest in decades
More than 250,000 Romanians demonstrated on Feb. 1 against a government decree decriminalizing some graft offences, seen as the biggest retreat on reforms since the country joined the European Union in 2007. Romania’s top judicial watchdog, the Superior Magistrates’…
EU voices ‘great concern’ over Romania corruption
BRUSSELS: The EU voiced concern Wednesday over events in Romania, warning the government must not backtrack on the fight against corruption after thousands protested against an emergency government decree slashing penalties for abuses. “The fight against…
Corruption Runs Rampant in Bulgaria and Romania After 10 Years of EU Membership
Bulgaria and Romania ascended to EU membership in 2007. The European Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was established concurrently, to monitor the countries’ efforts at tackling endemic issues around corruption, cronyism and organized crime. Its annual…
10,000 in Romania Anti-Corruption Protest
More than 10,000 protesters massed in University Square, and later broke through police lines, before heading toward government headquarters. Thousands also protested in the cities of Cluj in western Romania and Iasi, a city in the north. In Bucharest, protesters…
Romania intel officer retires amid corruption case link
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) – A senior Romanian intelligence official announced his retirement Tuesday after a businessman indicted on wide-ranging corruption charges claimed he had a close relationship with the officer. Florin Coldea, the No. 2 in Romania’s main…
British press hosts sustained campaign to discredit Romania’s fight against corruption.
The Guardian on Tuesday was the latest major British newspaper to publish an opinion article on the issue, after The Telegraph a day before, a British NGO’s report last week blasting the fight against corruption in Romania. Those came after months of regular…
Romania’s corruption fight is a smokescreen to weaken its democracy
The recent rise of the populist right in Hungary and Poland has raised the alarm about the future of democracy in Europe, as constitutional safeguards, media pluralism and civil society come under sustained attack. But there is another threat hiding in plain sight:…
Romania Gets New Government Amid Criticism of Spotty Corruption Record
The Social Democratic Party (PSD), led by Liviu Dragnea, put forward the list of 26 cabinet picks for his incoming government on Tuesday, following his party’s victory in the country’s December election. The cabinet list was accepted in a vote of confidence by…
Romania official seeks to overturn anti-corruption law
BUCHAREST, Romania — A Romanian official on Thursday petitioned the Constitutional Court saying a law banning people with convictions from serving as ministers is unconstitutional. The move came amid concerns that the new left-leaning government may seek to slow down…
Romanian president rejects left’s premier candidate
BUCHAREST: Romania’s president on Tuesday rejected the left-wing Social Democrats’ candidate for prime minister, Sevil Shhaideh, who would have been the EU country’s first female and Muslim premier. “I have properly analysed the arguments for and against and I have…
Romania’s health anti-corruption hotline gets 88 complaints in ten days
Romanian patients have denounced 88 possible corruption cases in the healthcare system in the first ten days after the launching of the anti-corruption hotline, said health minister Vlad Voiculescu. “The anti-corruption line and the protocol concluded with the General…
Teva bribery settlement raises questions on Argentina, Romania probes
Teva and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in separate statements on Thursday that they had reached a settlement over the charges relating to Russia, Ukraine and Mexico, and that Teva would pay a combined total of US criminal and regulatory penalties of almost…
Romania’s New Parliament Sits Amid Concerns About Corruption
Romania’s new Parliament has sat for the first time since elections amid concerns that the country’s vaunted anti-corruption fight may weaken under a new government. The left-leaning Social Democrats easily won the Dec. 11 parliamentary elections, but did…
Romania’s War on Corruption Got Old
Nobody likes corruption, but when fighting it becomes the focus of politics and policy, voters can quickly tire of this. The Romanian Social Democrats proved it on Sunday by winning a landslide election victory a year after its leaders were seemingly disgraced in a…
Romania elects a party led by a vote-rigger
THE centre-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) entered Romania’s parliamentary election on December 11th with what, in most countries, would be considered a handicap. Its leader, Liviu Dragnea, was convicted in 2015 of attempting electoral fraud three years earlier….
The woman leading Romania’s fight against rampant corruption
To her enemies she is an intractable foe, a throw-back to Romania’s communist era when the state abused its power to destroy lives at its whim. To her supporters Laura Codruta Kovesi is a heroine. The one person who has finally stood up to the corrupt and powerful…
Romania: Vote After Corruption Probe Forced Socialist PM From Power
The country of about 19 million is one of the poorest in the European Union and perceived as one of the most corrupt. Romania’s biggest party, the Social Democratic Party, is expected to come first and will likely try to form a majority with smaller parties. In all,…
Romania’s War on Corruption Got Old
Nobody likes corruption, but when fighting it becomes the focus of politics and policy, voters can quickly tire of this. The Romanian Social Democrats proved it on Sunday by winning a landslide election victory a year after its leaders were seemingly disgraced in a…
Romania’s anti-corruption services are reminiscent of Securitate
Romania entered the European Union on the basis that it had dealt with its legacy of corruption inherited from Nicolae Ceaușescu, the leader of one of the most corrupt and ruthless regimes in Central Europe. That corruption accompanied its early privatisations and…
Israeli convicted for targeting Romania’s anti-corruption chief
Geclowicz pleaded guilty for undertaking what prosecutors called a campaign of “harassment” to destabilize Kovesi’s team with “multiple threatening telephone calls” and email “piracy” aimed at “uncovering evidence of possible corruption” by Kovesi. Another Black Cube…
Romania president offers to help Slovakia fight corruption
BUCHAREST, Romania – Romania’s president has offered to help Slovakia with its anti-corruption fight, saying graft harms the economy and can deter investment. President Klaus Iohannis said “eradicating corruption is vital, because … corruption is…
Romania and when curbing corruption warrants investigation
A terrible traffic accident a year ago in the Romanian capital of Bucharest is back on local front pages currently, having fueled a debate over privilege and political interference. Early one evening in October 2015, the then-Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea’s car and…
Romanian Liberal Party head quits pending graft investigation
The leader and campaign manager of Romania’s second-largest party resigned on Wednesday after anti-corruption prosecutors said they were investigating him on suspicion of abusing his position to illegally secure funding for the party. The resignation of Vasile…
Romania: Party Leader Resigns Amid Corruption Probe
A leader of a major Romanian political party has resigned after anti-corruption prosecutors charged him with influence-peddling. Vasile Blaga resigned as joint leader of the Liberal Party Wednesday hours after anti-corruption prosecutors indicted him. He also said he…
Romanian ex-secret service agent held over plot against anti-graft chief
Kovesi, a 42-year-old former professional basketball player, is spearheading an unprecedented anti-corruption drive in one of Europe’s poorest and most graft-prone nations. Probes by the DNA have cost a string of prominent Romanians their jobs in recent years. If…
Romanian ex-PM Ponta under investigation in new probe
BUCHAREST, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors said on Tuesday they were investigating former leftist Prime Minister Victor Ponta on suspicion of abuse of power and complicity in tax evasion. Ponta is already on trial in a separate case on…
Romania: Ex-PM investigated over pre-election ‘Blair’ visit
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Former Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta is being investigated for alleged financial improprieties connected to another political figure’s 2012 visit to Bucharest, prosecutors said Tuesday. Prosecutors didn’t identify the…
Romanian interior minister resigns pending corruption probe
Romania’s Interior Minister Petre Toba resigned on Thursday pending a criminal investigation against him over allegations of shielding suspects in a case involving suspected embezzlement and abuse of power. Anti-corruption prosecutors asked President Klaus…
Suspicions of bribery for voluntary layoffs at Romanian energy producer
Romania’s Energy Minister Victor Grigorescu has “imperatively’ asked the management of the energy group Complexul Energetic Oltenia to check whether employees have offered bribes to be on the list of people who are laid off and get financial compensation. The minister…
Culture vs. corruption in Romania
Truth can be stranger than fiction, at least in the murky chronicles of Romania’s fight against corruption. In its online Museum of Corruption, Bucharest-based digital marketing agency Kinecto Isobar invites users to guess whether the cases illustrated are real or…
Romanian Bank’s Deputy Chief Quits Over Graft Charges
Bogdan Olteanu, 45, resigned on Monday as deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania, BNR, after prosecutors accused him of taking bribes from a businessman. He is the first senior bank official to be forced out on corruption charges. “It is a sad moment for me…
Romania: Senior Banker Under House Arrest in Graft Probe
The deputy governor of Romania’s central bank has been put under house arrest on suspicion that he engaged in influence-peddling, illicitly receiving 1 million euros ($1.1 million) when he was parliament speaker, anti-corruption prosecutors said Friday. Bogdan…
Romania’s Craiova mayor sent to court for bribery, money laundering
Romania’s anticorruption prosecutors sent to trial Craiova’s mayor Lia Olguta Vasilescu. They charged her with bribery, using authority to extort money, and money laundering. Radu Cosmin Preda, the former public administrator of Craiova, was indicted in the same case…
Romania struggles to rid itself of graft rot
Romania’s prime minister is launching a national anti-corruption strategy in a bid to crack down on widespread corruption that plagues every walk of life in Romania. Premier Dacian Ciolos (Pictured, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Mongolia last week), said he…
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By
Robert Williams
Editor in Chief