Jailed former Romanian minister admits taking EUR 0.9 mln bribe

Former transport minister and deputy Relu Fenechiu, who is currently serving time for corruption, has admitted the influence peddling and bribery charges brought against him by the prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Department (DNA). Moreover, Fenechiu has agreed to a prison sentence of three years and 10 months. He is accused of taking a bribe of EUR 901,000. The former minister is being investigated in the case related to software purchases made by the Justice Ministry and a state-owned pharmaceutical company. He was placed under preventive arrest in this case in late June this year. Prosecutors say that, between 2012 and 2014, Relu Fenechiu (who was an MP at that time) asked a local software company to pay him 15% of the value of two contracts that the respective firm wanted to get from the Justice Ministry and a state-owned pharmaceutical company. In return, he received more than EUR 901,000 from the software company’s representatives, through two companies that he was controlling. Through the agreement signed with the DNA prosecutors, Relu Fenechiu has committed to returning the entire amount. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com