Prosecutors from the Bacau office of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) have started prosecuting former social democrat MP Ionel Arsene, the current president of Neamt County Council, in a new corruption case.

Arsene, who is also the head of the Social Democratic Party’s organization in Neamt and a loyal supporter of PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, was charged with influence peddling.

The representative of a private company testified that, in 2015, Arsene asked him for 5% of the value of a public contract that the respective company had with the state company Apele Romane. The contract was worth RON 60 million and Arsene allegedly promised he would use his influence over a party colleague who was a state secretary in the Environment Ministry to allocate the money for this contract.

Arsene was placed under arrest at the end of January after DNA started prosecuting him in different influence peddling case.

editor@romania-insider.com