Former Romanian minister, anti-organized crime chief detained in Costa Rica

Elena Udrea, a former tourism minister, and Alina Bica, previously the chief prosecutor of the anti-organized crime directorate DIICOT, have been detained in Costa Rica, the Romanian Police announced. The two were on the street when they were detained by the National Interpol Bureau in Costa Rica. Both had a red alert listed in the Interpol database. Udrea is charged with bribery and abuse of office. The case is related to the illegal financing by the Tourism Ministry of a boxing gala in 2011, and a first court sentenced Udrea to six years in prison. Alina Bica was convicted to 4 years in prison for favoring the defendant. The two cannot be extradited immediately but preventive measures could be taken until the migration authorities decide whether they will grant them a refugee status, as they have requested, News.ro reported.

Udrea has been in Costa Rica since February of this year and gave birth to a baby daughter there on September 20. Veronel Rădulescu, the lawyer of Elena Udrea, argued in September that the court will definitely take into account that the former minister has a very young child, who cannot be separated from her mother. Because the child has Costa Rican citizenship, the court would not decide on the extradition, he said. In April, one of Udrea’s lawyers announced that she had been granted political refugee status. Bica also fled to Costa Rica at the beginning of this year. Meanwhile, justice minister Tudorel Toader said the extradition procedure will go through all the legal steps. Photos of convicted runaway on front page of lifestyle magazine spark media scandal in Romania Romania’s former anti-organized crime chief and tax agency head, on wanted persons list editor@romania-insider.com