Bucharest Mayor Arrested For Taking Bribes

Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors on Sunday morning detained Oprescu on suspicion that he took bribes of around 25,000 euro from several companies in exchange for getting them public contracts with the city hall.

They charged him as part of an organised group within the public administration that asked firms to kick back to 70 per cent of their profits from their work.

Of that, 10 per cent allegedly went directly to Oprescu, according to a statement from the National Anticorruption Department.

Oprescu was reportedly denounced by four businessmen.

He denied any wrongdoing, with his lawyer Alexandru Chiciu insisting that he "never asked for money from anybody, directly or indirectly", the AFP news agency reported.

Oprescu has been Bucharest's mayor since 2008, elected as an independent. He also ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2009 and was formerly a senator with the ruling Social Democratic Party.

In June, prosecutors arrested Solomon Wigler, Oprescu's personal advisor, on charges of influence peddling and bribe taking. Wigler was accused of asking for 230,000 euro from a businessman, while promising he would use his influence to get plans for three supermarkets approved by the Bucharest City Council.

Two district mayors in Bucharest have also been arrested this year on corruption charges.

Romania is still considered one of the most corrupt states in the European Union and has made only limited progress in fighting corruption and organised crime since it joined the EU in 2007.

But in recent years, the number of high-ranking officials sentenced for graft has increased significantly.