Former ANI head Horia Georgescu, placed under preventive arrest

Magistrates from the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) on Tuesday night decided to place the former head of the National Agency for Integrity (ANI), Horia Georgescu, currently investigated for abuse of office in the National Authority for Property Restitution (ANRP) case, under preventive arrest for 30 days.

Photo (c) Silviu MATEI /AGERPRES PHOTO

Horia Georgescu handed himself over to the Bucharest Police on Wednesday morning, being accompanied by his lawyer, Cristian Ene.

Held in preventive arrest for 30 days in the same case are also Mihnea Remus Iuoras (former Deputy President of the Central Committee for Damage Settlement within the ANRP), Ingrid Luciana Popa Mocanu (former Deputy President of the Committee), Constantin Catalin Canangiu (member of the Committee), Gheorghe Visoiu and Alexandru Florin Hanu (evaluators).

The decision is not final.

The former chief of ANI Horia Georgescu is charged by the DNA prosecutors of committing three offenses of abuse of office, also with aggravating circumstance, if the public officer obtained undue benefits for himself or another, facts that he committed while being a member of the Central Committee for Damage Settlement of the ANRP, with the prejudice under this case amounting to 75 million euros.

In January 2015, Romania's Government ? the National Authority for Property Restitution notified the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) regarding the fact that in the period 2008-2009 the buildings evaluation reports for which compensation was awarded, under Law 247/2005, did not meet the requirements of the International Evaluation Standards on estimating the market value of those buildings. AGERPRES