Romania’s former ruling party leader and his family banned from entering the US

The former president of Romania’s Social Democratic Party (PSD) and former Chamber of Deputies speaker Liviu Dragnea has been banned from entering the United States, after a decision of the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The interdiction also applies to Dragnea’s two children Valentin Stefan Dragnea and Maria Alexandra Dragnea.

The US State Department said that “today’s action sends a strong signal that the United States is committed to fighting corruption and supporting the rule of law in Romania.”

Liviu Dragnea, who became the most influential politician in Romania after his party won the parliamentary elections in December 2016, was sent to jail at the end of May this year, for abuse of office. He must serve three years and six months in prison.

Dragnea, is also under investigation in a separate case on suspicion of forming a criminal group to siphon off cash from state projects.

The 56-year-old had previously been banned from becoming prime minister due to a conviction for vote-rigging, for which he received a two-year suspended sentence in 2016.

Via US State Department/ Radio Free Europe