Romanian media mogul, television manager sentenced to jail for blackmail

Dan Voiculescu, the Romanian investor who controls Antena Group – the second biggest television group in Romania, and Sorin Alexandrescu, the group’s general manager, were sentenced to jail for blackmailing a director of the local telecom group RCS&RDS. The Bucharest Court of Appeal announced the sentences yesterday. Sorin Alexandrescu got three and a half years in jail, no parole, for blackmailing Ioan Bendei, the administrator of RCS&RDS group. Dan Voiculescu got a two-year sentence and his daughter, Camelia Voiculescu, was sentenced to two years of probation for accessory to blackmail, reports local Mediafax. The court also ruled that Antena Group should pay a RON 350,000 (EUR 78,000) criminal fine. Serban Pop, a former director within the tax agency ANAF also got two years in jail for releasing classified information. The sentences are not final and can be appealed. The National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) sent this case to court in October 2013. According to the prosecutors, in April-May 2013, the Antena Group’s general manager Sorin Alexandrescu repeatedly blackmailed RCS&RDS administrator Ioan Bendei threatening him to expose alleged corruption acts if he didn’t sign a contract for the retransmission of Antena Group’s TV channels by RCS&RDS group that was favorable to the media group. Antena Group wanted to get EUR 6.48 million per year from RCS&RDS for a period of five years. Romanian media mogul stays in jail for ten years editor@romania-insider.com