Romanian prosecutors extend probe that allegedly involves ruling party leader

Prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Department (DNA) started looking into more aspects of the journalistic investigation published last week by local publication Rise Project, which presents alleged corruption deeds of Liviu Dragnea, the president of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), reports local Mediafax. According to DNA, there are indications that lead to possible crimes assimilated to corruption. Last week, DNA confirmed that part of the aspects included in the journalistic investigation published by Rise Project were already the subject of a criminal case opened by anticorruption prosecutors. In this case, the prosecutors started an in rem criminal investigation (on the facts) in February 2016, on charges of corruption. DNA also said in the press release that it also requested information from the authorities in Brazil. The Rise Project journalistic investigation published last week was based on an apparent secret service document that was leaked to the journalists by a former officer. The report contains information about a presumed crime network organized around local construction company Tel Drum, which Dragnea apparently used to defraud EU and government funds. Just before the investigation was published, two antifraud inspectors of the tax authority ANAF carried out a control at the newspaper’s headquarters. While some said that this was in fact a way through which Dragnea tried to intimidate the journalists, the PSD leader denied any connection to the ANAF control. Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com