Romania's Anti-Corruption prosecutors (DNA) have asked the Supreme Court to hand down mandatory jail time to former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase and his wife Dana Nastase in the Zambaccian case file, where the two are accused of corruption. The sentence would not allow the two to benefit from any potential suspended sentence.

The former PM is accused of bribery and extortion, supported by evidence of imports from China, that were later found in Nastase's house on Zambaccian street.

Jail sentences in this case are set between three and seven years. A final decision form the High Court is awaited on March 30.

Adrian Nastase continues to plead innocene. He mentioned that some of the bank notes that he allegedly gave to Romania's former consul to China were actually printed after that date, which, according to Nastase's lawyer Ion Cazacu, shows that prosecutors wanted to frame Nastase.

Romania's Anti-Corruption prosecutors sent Nastase and his wife, together with former State Construction Inspectorate head Irina Jianu to court in 2010. Nastase was accused of having received goods and money worth some EUR 630,000 – products imported from China, as well as construction services for Nastase's houses in Bucharest and in Cornu, at his country retreat.

This is not first time Nastase has ended up in court accused of corruption. Earlier in December, the court found him not guilty in the 'Aunt Tamara' case, where he was also investigated for corruption. The Anti-Corruption prosecutors appealed the verdict at the High Court of Justice.

editor@romania-insider.com