Prosecutors from the Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) decided to hold businessman Dan Adamescu for 24 hours, starting Thursday, June 5, at noon, and requested the Bucharest Appeal Court to approve an arrest warrant for 30 days on his name.

The announcement from the prosecutors comes after Adamescu was brought in for questioning earlier in the day in a police van. He was prosecuted in May for allegedly bribing two judges to rule in favor of some of his companies in several insolvency court cases.

The judges were already arrested in May.

Adamescu was turned in by one of his lawyers who later committed suicide by throwing himself in front of the subway, acording to Romanian media.

Dan Adamescu owns Astra Asigurari, the largest insurance company in Romania, as well as Unirea Shopping Center, Intercontinental hotel in Bucharest, the IBC Modern office building which hosts the Bucharest Stock Exchange, and the Rex hotel in the Black Sea resort of Mamaia. He also owns Romania Libera, one of the main Romanian newspapers.

Adamescu is the second richest Romanian with a personal fortune of some EUR 950 million, according to last year’s Forbes Romania rich list.

editor@romania-insider.com