Powerful party leader in Romania to stand trial for instigation to abuse of office

Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) – the biggest party in Romania, is to stand trial for instigation to abuse of office and incitement to intellectual fraud. Besides Liviu Dragnea, the prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Department (DNA) also sent Bombonica Prodan to court for abuse of office. Bombonica Prodan is Dragnea’s former wife. The two are accused of having contributed to keeping two public employees on the payroll for several years, although they were not coming to work. The two, namely Botorogeanu Adriana and Stoica Anisa-Niculina, were employees of the Social Assistance and Child Protection Directorate in Teleorman, where Bombonica Prodan held a managing position. She is now accused of taking no measure against the two employees who weren’t coming to work but kept cashing in their wages. The Child Protection Directorate was under the authority of the Teleorman County Council, which, at that time, was led by Liviu Dragnea. The two employees had received total salaries worth RON 108,612 (some EUR 24,000), according to a DNA statement. Nine other people are to stand trial in this case, besides Liviu Dragnea and Bombonica Prodan. The case is to be tried at the High Court of Cassation and Justice. This is not Liviu Dragnea’s first problem with the law. Earlier this year, the politician got two years probation in a case related to the electoral fraud at the 2012 referendum organized to dismiss former President Traian Basescu. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com