Former Romanian footballer held in Mexico for bribery and possible use of forged cards

Former Romanian footballer Claudiu Raducanu was held by the police in Cancun, Mexico, for charges of bribery, on Friday, October 24. The Mexican prosecutors are also investigating him and one of his friends for using forged credit cards to withdraw money from a mall in Cancun. The court in Cancun decided to release Raducanu and his friend on bail, on Tuesday, October 28. Each paid a bail of some EUR 1,750. Immediately after they were released they were transferred by Mexican authorities into an immigration center in Chetumal to determine if their stay in Mexico is legal or not, according to Mexican proceso.com.mx, quoted by Mediafax. Claudiu Raducanu, 38, and Gheorghe Claudiu Papara, 25, were held on Friday, while they were extracting money from an ATM in the Plaza Las American shopping center in Cancun. The police found a HSBC credit card on them and 60 other credit cards, which could possibly be cloned of forged. They allegedly tried to bribe the police officers who caught them. Claudiu Raducanu was a striker for Romanian football team Steaua Bucharest from 1999 until 2003 and won a championship title with Steaua in 2001. He played 92 games and scored 58 goals for the Bucharest team. He then transferred to Espanyol Barcelona and then to Arminia Bielefeld in Germany. He also played in China, Cyprus and in lower leagues in Italy and England. editor@romania-insider.com