Romanian liberal party leader, acquitted of corruption charges

Romanian politician Ludovic Orban, the president of the National Liberal Party (PNL), was acquitted in a corruption trial. The High Court of Cassation and Justice ruled its final sentence in Orban’s case on Monday, March 5. The National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) sent Ludovic Orban to court in May 2016. The prosecutors charged him with using his influence for getting undue benefits. Romanian investor Tiberiu Urdareanu, who was also investigated in a corruption case, told the investigators that Orban had asked him for EUR 50,000 to finance his campaign in the local elections for the Bucharest mayor seat. Orban allegedly needed the money to buy some screen time at two local TV stations. After the prosecutors started the investigation on him, Ludovic Orban withdrew from the race for Bucharest mayor and stepped down as PNL deputy president. However, he claimed he was innocent. In January 2017, a court acquitted Orban of the corruption charges but the anticorruption prosecutors filed an appeal and asked for a 1-year jail sentence. In June 2017, Orban was elected president of PNL thus becoming the leader of the opposition in Romania. editor@romania-insider.com