Romanian politician jailed for corruption and money laundering
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A Romanian court sentenced a former government minister as well as the daughter of former president Traian Basescu to jail on Tuesday for money laundering and instigating others to take bribes in a 2009 presidential campaign financing case.
The court in Bucharest gave Ioana Basescu, a public notary, a five-year prison sentence. Elena Udrea, a former centre-right minister, lawmaker and close political ally of former president Basescu was handed an eight-year prison term.
The verdicts are not final and are subject to appeal. Basescu and Udrea denied any wrongdoing.
In the past five years the European Union state has seen its largest street protests in decades over entrenched corruption, while attempts by a previous leftist government to decriminalise some graft offences raised concerns in Brussels and Washington.
Investigations by anti-corruption prosecutors have exposed conflict of interest, abuse of power, fraud and awarding of state contracts in exchange for bribes across political parties.
Transparency International lists Romania as one of the EU’s most corrupt member states and Brussels has kept its justice system under special monitoring ever since it joined the bloc in 2007.
