The High Court of Cassation and Justice ruled a prison sentence of eight years for former finance minister Darius Valcov in the case in which he is charged with influence peddling, money laundering and financial or trade transactions incompatible with the functions occupied.

The decision is not final, however, and can be appealed.

Darius Valcov was the finance minister in the former government led by Victor Ponta. He has also worked at the governing program of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), and was recently appointed adviser to Romania’s new prime minister Viorica Dancila.

Anticorruption prosecutors sent Valcov to court in this case in 2015. They said that, back in 2009, a businessman contacted Darius Valcov, who was the mayor of Slatina at that time, and asked him to use his influence to help a company win some public tenders. In exchange for that, Valcov was to receive 20% of the contracts’ value.

Following Darius Valcov’s intervention, the businessman’s company won the tenders and contracts worth a total of some RON 78 million. Thus, Valcov received the money he was promised, on several occasions, according to the prosecutors.

The prosecutors found tens of valuable paintings during the investigation, which Valcov kept at his friends and relatives. They believed the paintings might have been purchased with money received from corruption deeds.

Former Romanian finance minister says he was tricked by prosecutors

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com