Romania Jails Richest Man For Corruption

Romania's Supreme Court on Thursday jailed super-rich businessman Ioan Niculae for two years and six months for illegaly financing one of the main candidates in the 2009 presidential campaign.

The court said Niculae paid 150,000 euros to a member of the then opposition Social Democratic Party, PSD, ahead of the presidential elections, in exchange for influence in the government. The court ordered Niculae to repay the bribe.

The party official concerned, Gheorghe Bunea Stanciu, was jailed for three years.

Niculae, 60, supported the SPD candidate Mircea Geoana in the presidential race, which he lost in the second round.

Niculae has an estimated wealth of 1.1 billion euro, according to Forbes 500 Richest Romanians list. His investments are mainly in energy, farming, trade, real estate and football.

Meanwhile, a Bucharest court on Thursday ordered the arrests of the former finance minister, Darius Valcov, and Radu Mazare, mayor of southern city of Constanta, on separate bribery charges.

Valcov is accused of taking some 2 million euro to help a businessman land a public works contract while he was mayor of Slatina in 2009. He resigned on March 15 and has been under house arrest.

Mayor Mazare, who is already notorious for eccentric behaviour, is acused of receiving 9 million euros in bribes in exchange for handing out permits and for letting a businessman win contracts to refurbish the city. Both are members of the Social Democratic Party.