Former Romanian finance minister Darius Valcov accused the anticorruption prosecutors of deceit saying they promised him an easy sentence if he admitted to committing influence peddling after which they came up with new charges against him.

At a High Court hearing, Valcov said that the prosecutors gave him two options: to admit his guilt for the influence peddling changes and get a 3-year suspended jail sentence or to be charged with money laundering, in which case the prosecutors would have also continued the searches at his sister’s home in Switzerland, reports local Agerpres.

The former minister said that the National Anticorruption Directorate’s chief prosecutor assured him that the deal was agreed. However, he said he was tricked because the prosecutors also started to investigate him for money laundering.

Darius Valcov, a former finance minister in the Victor Ponta cabinet, was held in April 2015 on influence peddling charges. The prosecutors found tens of valuable paintings during the investigation, which Valcov kept at his friends and relatives. They believed the paintings may have been purchased with money received from corruption deeds.

06 September 2017

Romania Insider

Disclaimer: All views, opinions and accounts included in the RAI News Section are those of the authors; their inclusion does not imply official endorsement or acceptance by RAI. The News Section reflects the selection of topics of informative value to the organization and its stakeholders. Its content is taken from press/media sources and does not in any way reflect official RAI Secretariat policy. RAI Secretariat is not responsible for possible inaccuracies in media reports.