Top Romanian politicians and public officials were sentenced to years in jail in 2014

Courts in Romania ruled in some very important corruption cases in 2014 and high profile politicians were sentenced to years in jail. Among the top convicts in 2014 are former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, as well as other former ministers, members of the Parliament, and high public officials. Some of the politicians who were found guilty of corruption were not only sentenced to jail sentences, no parole, but also had some of their assets confiscated by the state. The year started with former PM Adrian Nastase’s conviction to four years in prison, on January 6. Nastase was convicted for bribery and blackmail in the “Zambaccian” case. His wife, Dana Nastase was also sentenced to three years parole. The authorities confiscated EUR 400,000 from the Nastases. Adrian Nastase was released on parole in August. On January 30, former minister of transport Relu Fenechiu was sentenced to five years in jail, no parole, in the “Transformatorul” file, which involved the sale of old but overpriced transformers and switches via his companies to the Electricity Maintenance Subsidiary Moldova. Relu Fenechiu, who was acting minister of transport at the time, was forced to resign to start executing his sentence. Fenechiu, his brother and three other people convicted in this case were also forced to pay some EUR 1.28 million to the state. Former minister of justice Tudor Chiuariu and former minister of communications Zsolt Nagy were also sentenced to jail, but with parole, in a case related to the transfer of a land plot in Bucharest, which was owned by the Romanian Post, to a private company. Former minister of youth and sports Monica Iacob Ridzi was also sentenced to five years in prison, no parole, in a corruption case related to the organizing of a public event, “Ziua Tineretului” (Youth Day). The decision is not final. Former minister of economy Codrut Seres got a four-year jail conviction in a case related to state-owned energy producer Hidroelectrica. The decision is not final. Former minister of transport Miron Mitrea was also sentenced to two years in jail for corruption, but he too can appeal against the court’s ruling. Sorin Apostol, the former mayor of Cluj-Napoca, one of the largest cities in Romania, was also sentenced to four years and six months in jail