Former Romanian boxer and former president of the Romanian Boxing Federation Rudel Obreja was taken into custody for 24 hours, after allegedly taking EUR 1 million from a whistle-blower, and pretending he could influence judges to keep him out of jail.

UPDATE: After the 24-hour arrest, Obreja was arrested for 29 days.

The whistle-blower already had a jail conviction and had appealed the court decision, and Obreja promised him a favorable decision on appeal. Obreja allegedly demanded EUR 200,000 before the court sollution, and the rest after, saying the appeal should have been requested after February 1, the day the new Criminal Code came into force. The appeal was however trialed sooner than that, and the whistle-blower got a final jail sentence.

Prosecutors did not give the name of the whistle-blower, but, according to Hotnews.ro, it was former media boss Sorin Ovidiu Vantu, who got a two – year definitive hail sentence without parole on January 24.

The prosecutors started a criminal case against Obreja on influence trading. This is not his only case, as he is also investigated in a file nicknamed the Bute Gala, for alleged funds embezzlement. State officials were initially investigated in the file, as the boxing gala was organized in partnership with the state, but they were later excluded from the criminal investigation.

Obreja's firm organized in 2012 the boxing match between Lucian Bute and Jean Paul Mendy, where Romania advertised its official tourism brand. He resigned from the helm of the Romanian Boxing Federation later in 2012.

Obreja, 49, who started boxing in the late 70s, was a national champion in the 80s and got medals at several international boxing championships at the time.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: lucian-bute.ro)