Romania’s tax agency auctions historical villa seized in corruption case
A historical villa in Bucharest, which the Romanian authorities seized from local businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vintu, was put up for sale by the tax agency ANAF, as the state is trying to recover the damage caused in a case related to the fall of the National Investment Fund (FNI), one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in Romania.
The building confiscated from Sorin Ovidiu Vintu was nicknamed the "palace" but it’s actually a villa built in 1927, Radio Europa Libera Romania reported. The building, which is a historical monument, is located in the Aviatorilor area in northern Bucharest, behind the Russian Embassy.
The “palace” was valued at RON 20 million (some EUR 4.2 million).
Sorin Ovidiu Vintu, one of the most powerful investors in Romania in the late 1990s and early 2000s, was sentenced in February 2017 to eight years in prison in the FNI case. He was found guilty of money laundering as he withdrew large cash amounts from the fund just before it collapsed. The court also ruled that Vintu should pay USD 13 million worth of damages in this case.
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