The leader of Romania’s ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) Liviu Dragnea was sentenced to three and a half years in prison but the court decision is not final.

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Dreagnea was sentenced to prison for having caused abuse of office with two fictitious hirings while he was president of the Teleroman County Council, in 2009 and 2010. The anticorruption prosecutors argued Dragnea intervened to hire two PSD members and keep them in office at the Social and Child Protection Service in the county while knowing the two had never showed up at work.

The prosecutors had asked for seven and a half years in jail for Dragnea, who always claimed he was innocent. The prejudice in this case is of around RON 100,000 – EUR 21,800 – representing the salaries paid by the state to the two employees.

Seven employees of the Social and Child Protection Service were also sentenced to prison with similar terms, but on parole. Liviu Dragnea’s ex-wife, Bombonica Prodana, who used to work for the same state agency, was acquitted in this case after she agreed to pay the damage and the prosecutors dropped the charges against her.

The court decided to acquit Liviu Dragnea on the count of forgery.

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editor@romania-insider.com