Twenty arrests in Romania's EUR 85 mln bank fraud case; suspected ringleaders in custody

Romanian businesspeople Ioan Crestin and Marius Locic have been detained by the Organized Crime and Terrorism Investigation Department (DIICOT) and they are to remain in police custody for 24 hours in connection with the recent bank fraud case involving BRD, ATE Bank and Volksbank. The two are facing charges for allegedly acting as ringleaders in the complex loan embezzlement scheme that is suspected to have illegally put EUR 85 million into the coffers of 35 companies they controlled. “I want to tell you that I am completely innocent in this banker or bank fraud case that the media keeps talking about,” stated Marius Locic, upon entering the DIICOT premises on Thursday, as quoted by Adevarul daily. “From my point of view, there is no fraud in the Locic-bank relationship. There’s only one thing that I did: specific commercial transactions. As for what I notice that all TV stations are broadcasting today (Thursday – e.n.) that there were revaluations done, that banks were defrauded, that is not true. All banks from which I got the loans have monthly meetings about the economic relaunch and, to your surprise, these banks show, at least as far as I’m concerned, that they are willing for us to relaunch all businesses. All loan files with me as applicant are approved. [...] If there are any frauds in the banking system, they have nothing to do with me”, added Locic Locic was also asked about his alleged business connection with the Crestin brothers, to which he responded that he “knows a lot of people” and that he has no idea as to why the DIICOT might have called him in. The DIICOT prosecutors issued today a total of 20 detention orders for 24 hours into Police custody and 21 orders forbidding the respective individuals from leaving the country for 30 days. Three bank managers, two notaries and two real-estate evaluators are also in Police custody at the moment. Ioana Jelea ioana.jelea@romania-insider.com