On March 24, former Romanian finance minister Sebastian Vladescu was given a 102-month jail sentence with execution by the judges of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) for the crimes of bribery and influence peddling. The case is related to the award of a rehabilitation contract of some sections of the railway.

The decision of the three-judge court is not final, Economica.net reported. The appeal to the panel of five judges is next, also to the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

According to the court decision, Vladescu received seven years each for two bribery offences and six years for influence peddling.

In the same case, former MP Cristian Boureanu was sentenced to four years and three months in prison with execution for influence peddling, Mircea Ionuţ Costea (brother-in-law of Mircea Geoana) - seven years in jail for influence peddling and bribery, and Constantin Dascalu (former Secretary of State in the Ministry of Transport) - five years and six months in prison for bribery. Mihaela Mititelu, a close associate of the public railway company CFR, also received four years for complicity in influence peddling.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)