Romanian President’s brother remains in custody after court’s decision

Romanian President Traian Basescu’s brother, Mircea Basescu, will remain in police custody after the Constanta Court rejected on Monday, October 27, his request to replace the preventive arrest with home arrest. The decision is not final, however, and can be appealed within 48 hours. Mircea Basescu was placed under preventive arreston June 20, together with an accomplice, Marian Capatana, for influence peddling and complicity to influence peddling in a case involving Romanian mobster Sandu Anghel. In mid-July, they were indicted under preventive arrest by prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate DNA. Mircea Basescu allegedly asked large amounts of money from members of mobster Sandu Anghel’s family, in exchange for the promise that he would try to obtain a favorable sentence in an attempted homicide case in which Anghel was prosecuted. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com