Romanian businessman Catalin Spataru, nicknamed the ‘Prince of asphalt from Pitesti’ by the Romanian media, was detained for 24 hours, and will be taken to the Mehedinti court with the proposal of preventive custody. He is being investigated for tax evasion and money laundering. The businessman, whose company has worked on various small contracts for road construction and repair, is said to have conned the Romanian state out of EUR 20 million.

Catalin Spataru decided to go to the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Mehedinti for a hearing, after it was speculated that he had fled the country. The Magistrates of the Court in Mehedinti will decide today ( March 5 ) if he will be held in custody for 29 days.

General Trust Arges, the company owned by Catalin Spataru, posted a turnover of EUR 10.3 million in 2010, and a net profit of some EUR 20,000, according to the data posted on the Ministry of Finance website.

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

(photo source: Sxc.hu)