Romanian investor Sorin Ovidiu Vintu was sentenced yesterday by the Bucharest Court to ten years and two months in prison in the case of misappropriating the assets of the SNP Petrom Employees Association.

In the same case, union leader Liviu Luca also received ten years in prison. Penalties resulted from merging the current sentences with final convictions received by the two defendants in other two cases. The court’s decision is not final, reports local Agerpres.

Both Vintu and Luca are now in prison. In July this year, they were sentenced to six years in jail for embezzlement and money laundering.

The two were found guilty of fraudulent misuse of some EUR 83.5 million that belonged to Petromservice, a company that used to provide services for OMV Petrom, the biggest oil and gas group in Romania. Petromservice was initially controlled by the SNP Petrom Employees Association, but Vintu took over the company with Liviu Luca’s help.

According to Romania's Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), Sorin Ovidiu Vintu, together with Liviu Luca and Octavian Turcan, created a criminal group between 2005 and 2006 aimed at obtaining funds from the assets of the SNP Petrom Employees Association. The group’s final aim was to acquire total control in the General Assembly of Shareholders of PSV Company, the former Petromservice.

For some 10 years, Sorin Ovidiu Vantu was one of the most powerful people in Romania. He controlled a wide range of businesses and influenced local politics through his media group, which included several TV channels (including Realitatea TV), radio stations, newspapers, and a news agency.

editor@romania-insider.com