Romania issues over 1,000 sentences for corruption in 2013, but court trials still lengthy

Over 1,000 Romanians investigated in corruption cases received final sentences in 2013, a growth of 41 percent on the year before. Eight of these people were high level statesmen. Meanwhile, the number of acquittals was down – only seven out of 100 investigated Romanians were acquitted last year, according to the activity report issued by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate DNA. The low number of acquittals was also acknowledged by the World Bank and by the European Commission in their respective reports, said Laura Codruta Kovesi, head of the DNA. Out of all the people investigated for corruption, only 139 admitted their guilt in court and benefited from simplified procedures, and hence speedier trials. For high corruption, the court ordered jail terms of over five years, applied to 63 individuals. For about 85 percent of the convicted Romanians, the length of the investigation was under a year and a half. The speediest investigation lasted for four days, in a EU money fraud case, while in another case, with EUR 1.4 mln damages, the investigation was finalized in 30 days, according to the DNA. For half of the cases, the trial took less than five years until a definitive sentence was issued. The speediest trial took only three months, as those on trial admitted guilty. The longest trial took 10 years, and involved 41 defendants in a bank fraud. editor@romania-insider.com