Romania Jails Businessman For Money Laudering

A Romanian appeal court on Friday jailed the businessman and politician Dan Voiculescu for ten years for involvement in the fraudulent sale of a state institution, money laundering and influence peddling.

Voiculescu, founder of the Conservative Party, was found guilty of buying the land and building of the state-owned Food Research Institute at an under-valued price, thereby defrauding the state of around 60 million euro.

Eleven other persons involved in the case also received jail sentences, including former Tellecomunication Minister Sorin Pantis.

The court also ordered the confiscation of property, television studios and land belonging to the media company of Voiculescu’s daughters to cover the damages. In addition, his family was ordered to pay around 1.3 million euro in restitution.

The verdict is final and comes after years of judicial procedures, delays, political maneuverings and media attacks on the judiciary. The case started in 2008 and a previous court had jailed him for five years, but the sentence was appealed.

The founder of the Conservative Party - which is now a junior member of the current centre-left ruling coalition - Voiculescu set up the media group, Intact, which he officially transferred to his two daughters in 2005.

Voiculescu, 67, has repeatedly denied the charges, claiming he was a "victim of revenge" by his political archrival, President Traian Basescu.

Voiculescu was among the main supporters of political forces which in 2007 and again in 2012 impeached the President. The bid failed because too few people voted in the referendum on the subject.

The Intact group's television stations have been critical of Basescu and on Saturday they reported that media freedom was "under attack in...