Romanian businessman Dragos Bilteanu, the president of the board of local investment company SIF Banat-Crisana (SIF1), was arrested for 30 days in an embezzlement and capital market manipulation case. The Bucharest Court of Appeal took this decision after hearings which took place on Tuesday night, December 9.

Lebanese businessman Najib el Lakis, Bilteanu’s business partner, who was also a member of SIF Banat-Crisana’s board of directors, was also arrested for 30 days.

Both Bilteanu and el Lakis had been held on Monday evening by the prosecutors of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), together with two lawyers and a stock broker, after they had been questioned in this case.

Bilteanu, El Lakis and the other suspects are investigated for allegedly embezzling from SIF Banat-Crisana, as well as from SIF Muntenia, as well as for several share trades made in 2013 which allegedly manipulated the share price of SIF Banat-Crisana. The damage in this case is estimated at some EUR 13 million.

editor@romania-insider.com