Romanian businessman sentenced to 13 years in jail in the U.S. for bribing American officer

Romanian businessman Dumitru Martin, the owner of the local sanitation company Polaris M Holding, was sentenced to 13 years in jail by a U.S. court in Sacramento. Last year, a jury found Martin guilty of bribing an officer of the American Air Forces to get a USD 10.35 million contract at the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in Romania, which hosts U.S. troops and equipment. In September 2015, Polaris M Holding paid USD 100,000 to the U.S. officer who was cooperating with the FBI. The money represented just an installment of a USD 1 million bribe the Romanian businessman was willing to pay for the contract. The FBI arrested Martin on December 1, at the San Francisco International Airport. Martin and three of his employees were caught in an FBI sting in which two undercover operatives and an Air Force major drew the Romanians into the bureau’s net. The businessman claimed he was not guilty but his three employees pleaded guilty and described the whole operation of bribing the American officer. The court will announce the sentences for the three Romanian employees in May. Polaris M Holding is one of the biggest sanitation companies in Romania. It has contracts with local authorities in Constanta, Arad, Targu Jiu, Alba Iulia, Slobozia, and with the county authorities in Timis and Teleorman. The company had a turnover of EUR 38.5 million and a net profit of EUR 5 million in 2015, according to data from the Finance Ministry. It had over 1,400 employees. editor@romania-insider.com