The Dutch Embassy in Bucharest reacted yesterday after photos of the Dutch ambassador sitting at the same table with a controversial Romanian investor on New Year’s Eve started a media scandal.

Ambassador Stella Ronner-Grubacic, a strong supporter of the fight against corruption in Romania, was photographed by a local tabloid sitting at the same table with Romanian businessman Nelu Iordache, who was recently convicted for EU funds fraud. The ambassador and Iordache and their families spent their New Year’s Eve at a hotel in Poiana Brasov.

Nelu Iordache, one of Romania’s so-called “asphalt kings” was recently sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in jail in a case related to the misuse of EU funds allotted for building the Nadlac-Arad highway. The decision is not final.

The Dutch Embassy said in a press release that the ambassador and her family were in Poiana Brasov on a personal holiday. The embassy also explained that the ambassador hadn’t been consulted by the event organizer on the table arrangement.

Unofficial sources told local Mediafax that the Dutch ambassador knows Nelu Iorache’s wife, as their children attend the same international school in Bucharest.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Embassy of the Netherlands in Romania on Facebook)