Former Romanian ministers under judiciary control in large privatizations trial

Two former ministers, who are currently trialed under appeal for treason, joining crime groups and espionage in a large privatization case in Romania, have been placed under judiciary control, which means their freedom of movement is limited, and have to show up for frequent judiciary controls. Codruţ Sereş and Zsolt Nagy, former Economy Minister, and former IT&C Minister respectively were already sentenced to jail for their involvement in strategic privatizations: six years in jail for Sereş for treason by disclosing secrets – his second jail conviction so far, and five years for Nagy for joining a crime group. Two other state clerks are also under judiciary control, after the court rejected the prosecutors’ request to place all four under home arrest. Two international consultants, Vadim Benyatov and Stamen Stanchev, also got jail terms, 10 and 11 years respectively, for espionage. Investment banker Michal Susak, who started the crime and espionage group, got 10 years in jail, while Mircea Călin Flore, senior director with CSFB Europe Ltd. London, got for years in jail for the same offences as Susak. This trial started in 2007, and a first court already ruled its sentence against all of them in 2013, while the Supreme Court is expected to rule the final sentence after the final hearing on November 26 this year. Al the crimes in this file are related to several large privatizations in Romania: Electrica Muntenia Sud, Romaero, Avioane Craiova, Radiocomunicaţii, Poşta Română and Romtelecom. Some of these privatizations were carried out, while others were in different stages, including choosing an international consultant. Court orders jail time for two former Romanian Ministers in ‘strategic privatizations’ case editor@romania-insider.com