Marian Vanghelie, placed under preventive arrest

The High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) on Saturday decided the 30 day preventive arrest of Capital Sector 5 Mayor Marian Vanghelie, accused by the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) of abuse of office, bribe taking and money laundering.

Photo credit: (c) (c) Ilie BUMBAC / AGERPRES PHOTO

The decision is not final.

Marian Vanghelie has already been taken to the arrest of the Capital Police.

"From 2007 until present, defendant Vanghelie, in exchange for some material benefits, helped a businessman to obtain, for the companies the latter controls, the granting of a number of public work contracts, with a total value of approximately 2 billion lei. For the assignment and payment of the contracts for the public works execution, defendant Vanghelie Marian-Daniel charged an approximately 20 per cent 'commission' of the value of the contracts signed by the Bucharest Sector 5 Hall and the subordinate institutions with the companies controlled by the businessman in question," the DNA maintains.

The "commission" in question was paid by businessman Dumitru Marin to Vanghelie, through Mircea-Sorin Niculae (Mayor Vanghelie's cousin), and to another person in their circle, the prosecutors also say.

The "commission" was paid, in some cases, in the form of some contracts signed by a company controlled by Marin Dumitru, through some off-shore companies, and companies controlled by the Sector 5 mayor, through intermediaries.

The investigators found that part of the "commission" was paid by ceding two new constructions in favour of some persons close to the Mayor.

The DNA points out that as guarantee for the 20 per cent commission payment, a businessman ceded the control over one of his companies to close...