Leading Romanian Transplant Surgeon Accused of Embezzlement

A Romanian court has placed one of the country's best-known transplant surgeons under supervision, after he was accused of embezzling public funds for 17 years.

Prosecutors detained Mihai Lucan and his son, Ciprian Lucan, last Wednesday. The court rejected their request to investigate them in detention.

Prosecutors say the surgeon committed fraud by using equipment and personnel from a public hospital that he was in charge of to operate on patients in his private clinic.

The patients were diagnosed and admitted for surgery at the state clinic, but then advised to seek surgery in Lucan's private hospital, where they paid for surgeries. They were then transferred back to the public hospital for recovery.

Prosecutors say their allegations are based on scores of testimonies from patients and employees.

From 2000 until 2017 Lucan ran the Romanian Urology and Kidney Transplant Insititute in the city of Cluj and became well known thanks to intense media coverage of his innovative surgery techniques.

He resigned in April 2017, months after the then health minister, Vlad Voiculescu, ordered an internal investigation into how organ transplant clinics operated in Romania.

Prosecutors say the state clinic counted 1 million euros in losses due to the alleged fraud committed by the head surgeon.

Prosecutors said cryotherapy equipment used in treating cancer patients was transferred to the private clinic where 159 patients were charged from 3,000 to 6,700 euros per intervention. However all the supplies were covered by the public clinic.

Prosecutors also said the surgeon kept a written diary of his plans and a record of the public officials he contacted for help.

"Only God can save me now," Lucan told the media on...