Court decision in EUR 1.7 mln trial against Romanian Transport Minister Fenechiu due mid-July, prosecutors ask for up to 15 years in jail

Romanian Transport Minister Relu Fenechiu (in picture) is currently accused of having sold old transformers and switches via his companies to the Electricity Maintenance Subsidiary Moldova, but at high prices, as if they were new. Fenechiu, who I currently being trialed, with a court decision expected on July 12, could face a 15-year jail sentence, should the court agree with the prosecutors' request. The National Anti-corruption Agency DNA asked for jail time with execution for Fenechiu and his alleged accomplices from the Electricity Maintenance Subsidiary Moldova. Prosecutors also asked for compensation pay from Fenechiu, his brother and two other people who are also trialed, in amount of some EUR 750,000, while Fenechiu, his brother and two other people should pay some EUR 500,000. A third compensation pay for Fenechiu, his brother and two other people was asked, some EUR 1.2 million, as well as a levy on all their goods. So far, the court rejected all the exceptions raised by Fenechiu's lawyers at the most recent court meeting on Thursday, July 4, as well as the proofs they provided. In this file, Minister Fenechiu is being trialed together with his brother, Lucian Fenechiu, shareholder and administrator at their joint firms, together with Mihai Bogdan Damian, shareholder and administrator of SC Euro Plus SRL Iaşi and SC Fene Grup SA, for abuse of power and complicity to abuse of power against public interest. Ioan Turbatu, general manager of Electricity Maintenance Subsidiary Moldova between 2002 and 2004 was also sent to court, as well as Ion Mărghidan, director of the same company between 2004 and 2005, together with Petru Andronache, commercial director of the company between 2002 and 2005, all of abuse of power against public interest. According to prosecutors, the public managers signed public acquisition contracts with firms belonging to the Fenechiu brothers without respecting the law, thus favoring these firms, from which they bought transformers made in the 70s- 80s, but with price tags of new transformers. Prosecutors showed that most of these products ended up in the stock of the state company as old products, being used without any economic reasoning. The value of these contracts – thus the value of the damage - amounted to some EUR 1.7 million. The state company is also part of the trial, asking for these money back from the former managers and from the Fenechiu brothers. Fenechiu's lawyer argued that the DNA file does not include evidence showing there was an understanding between the Minister and the state company manager, and Fenechiu said he could not have done anything with people he did not know. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said he could take over as interim at the Transport Ministry should Fenechiu be convicted, but also said he'd regret replacing him. Relu Fenechiu, a vice-president in the National Liberal Party PNL, has been the Minister of Transport since December 2012, in the cabinet led by Social Democrat leader Victor Ponta.