Romanian football club owner Becali stopped at airport, while trying to leave country 'to pray before court decision'

Romanian MP and businessman George Becali was stopped by the police on Bucharest's Otopeni Airport on Sunday night (May 19) while he was trying to leave the country, heading to Israel. The Romanian businessman is currently waiting for the Supreme Court’s final verdict in a case involving land exchange with the Ministry of Defense. The verdict is to be announced later today. According to judiciary sources quoted by local news agency Mediafax, George Becali, also a former member of the European Parliament, was stopped on the airport and brought to the Supreme Court Prosecution to be informed he can’t leave the country. Also, according to Mediafax, Becali is being investigated in another case of fraud and abuse of office involving Avicola Iasi. The Romanian businessman, who owns the Steaua football club, told the local press that his intention was to go to Israel just for few hours and pray before the Supreme Court’s decision scheduled for today (May 20) and that he didn't know he was not allowed to leave the country, as the court had decided that only a few hours prior. The Supreme Court will give the final decision later today (May 20) on the case involving a land exchange between George Becali and the ministry of Defense. Prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Department (DNA) asked jail time for Becali and the other defendants in this case, namely Romanian former Defense Ministry state secretary Dumitru Cioflina, former Defense Minister Victor Babiuc and the his daughter, Ioana Babiuc. According to the bill of indictment, between 1996 and 1999, the Defense Ministry, which managed the state’s public domain in Voluntari, near capital Bucharest, exchanged some land plots – 28.8 hectares with Gigi Becali. This land exchange meant prejudicing the Romanian state with a total amount of over USD 890,000. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Agerpres)