Two Romanian businessmen taken in for questioning in Microsoft licenses case

Romanian businessmen Dorin Cocos and Nicolae Dumitru were brought in for questioning on Monday morning by the prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) in the Microsoft licenses case, according to legal sources quoted by Mediafax. Dorin Cocos is presidential candidate Elena Udrea’s ex-husband. He has been previously investigated in other high profile cases, such as the Alro case. Nicolae Dumitru is the owner of the Niro group. He owns the Dragonul Rosu shopping area in the Eastern part of Bucharest, the Niro Tower office building, and the Grand Hotel du Boulevard, on Bucharest’s Calea Victoriei. He also owns several restaurants in Bucharest’s Old Town, including Crama Domneasca and Vecchio 1812. Both Cocos and Dumitru are believed to be involved in the Microsoft licenses case, in which nine former Romanian ministers are also investigated for purchasing overpriced IT licenses for schools in Romania. The case broke at the end of September when DNA announced its intention to prosecute the nine ministers who signed for the acquisitions. IProsecutors have not yet revealed exactly how Cocos and Dumitru participated in the crime ring. On October 16, anti-corruption prosecutors searched the homes of former communications minister Gabriel Sandu, of the former presidential counselor Dorin Marian, of the former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) Catalin Harnagea. The homes of Dorin Cocos, Nicolae Dumitru and Remus Truica, the chief of staff of former prime minister Adrian Nastase, were also raided by prosecutors in search of new evidence in the case. editor@romania-insider.com