Senate approves preventive arrest of former FinMin Darius Valcov

In a 97-to-48 secret vote with 5 votes cancelled, the Senate plenum approved on Wednesday the taking into custody and placement under preventive detention of the former Finance Minister, Senator Darius Valcov in an influence peddling case.

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES PHOTO

The permission to arrest him was requested by the prosecutors of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Romania's Supreme Court and followed another identical request formulated by the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) that got rejected by the Legal Committee of the Senate on Tuesday.

Thus, according to the DNA, in 2009, a company manager contacted Valcov, back then mayor of Slatina municipality, with the promise that, in exchange for influencing the decision-making factors to help the company in question win some bidding for construction works in Slatina, Scornicesti, Piatra Olt and Draganesti towns, he will pay him 20 percent (without VAT) of the amounts the company was going to win from the respective contracts.

Let alone this case, the DNA also asked the Senate for the approval to detain and place under arrest former Finance Minister Darius Valcov for acts in his capacity of senator and minister, namely 'financial operations, as commercial acts, incompatible with his position, responsibilities or tasks, or concluding financial transactions using information obtained owing to his office, responsibilities or tasks as a Senator and minister,' the DNA mentioned in a media release.

The new charges the DNA refers to, as the institution informed, were committed by the ex-minister in the last four years.

AGERPRES