Romania's justice for all: 35 big names now behind bars, under preventive or house arrest

Romania’s justice system seems to have woken up in recent months, sending important local politicians and business people behind bars. Some of them are already serving their sentences while others are placed under preventive arrest, and are investigated in one or more cases of corruption, tax evasion or money laundering. Politicians and business people who are currently serving time:

• Former Youth and Sports Minister Monica Iacob Ridzi was sentenced to five years in prison in early-February this year, for abuse of office. The five judges who made the decision in this case found Ridzi guilty of abuse of office related to the organizing of the Youth Days (Zilele Tineretului) festivities, in 2009. Read more about this case here.
• Former Transport Minister Miron Mitrea was also sentenced to prison recently, for corruption. Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice ruled two years in jail for Mitrea and the decision is final. Click here to read more about the case.
• In January this year, the High Court of Cassation and Justice sentenced former Economy Minister Codrut Seres to four years and eight months in prison, in a case of economic espionage. The court ruled jail sentences totaling 44 years in this case, no parole, for ten former ministers, state secretaries and private consultants. More about it here.
• Former Romanian Transport Minister Relu Fenechiu currently serves time after the court sentenced him to five years in jail, no parole, in a case nicknamed “Transformatorul”. More about the case here.
• Former Communication Minister Sorin Pantis was convicted in two separate cases. Last summer, the court sentenced Pantis to seven years in jail in the privatization of the Institute of Food Research. Later the same year, the Bucharest Appeal Court sentenced him to two years and eight months in prison in the Rompetrol case. Romanian journalist and senator Sorin Rosca Stanescu also got two years and four months in this case. More about the Rompetrol case