Mihai Necolaiciuc (in picture), the former Director of the Romanian Railways Company (CFR), has been extradited from the US to Romania, having arrived in Bucharest on April 20. Necolaiciuc will face criminal charges for public corruption. The extradition treaty and surrender warrant was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on April 8 this year, according to the US Embassy to Bucharest.

In May 2007, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received a request for assistance from the Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), which was investigating Mihai Necolaiciuc and six others for high level corruption. They were accused of illegal public procurements and the purchase of overpriced, poor quality products other public corruption crimes resulting in a financial loss exceeding EUR 69 million.

Mihai Necolaiciuc fled Romania in early 2007 to the United States. He was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida and detained pending an extradition hearing in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. On March 1, 2011, the US has decided to have Mihai Necolaiciuc extradited to Romania.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Mediafax)