The final ruling in two lawsuits involving the fugitive [but very active, recently] businessman Gabriel 'Puiu' Popoviciu are expected in May.

On May 5, in Romania, the Court of Appeal will re-judge the state's civil lawsuit against Popoviciu regarding 224 ha in northern Bucharest (Baneasa Farms) allegedly appropriated by Popoviciu by means of corruption, G4media.ro reported.

Popoviciu was already given seven years of jail in the criminal lawsuit on the same topic, which ended in 2019. The National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) took forcible possession of the land, which hosts a large-seized shopping mall (Baneasa Mall), an IKEA outlet and the US Embassy, among others.

If the Court of Appeal upholds the lower court's ruling, the land ends in the state's hands. And there's a minor problem in this case: the land was donated by private owners on the condition that it is dedicated to a higher education institution in the area of agriculture.

As neither IKEA nor Baneasa Mall nor the US Embassy qualifies for such a higher education institution, the land should further be given back to the heirs of the donors. It would not be a big surprise to see Popoviciu as the heir of the initial donors, given the massive trade with property documents carried out in the past.

In another case in London scheduled for May 16, Romania's Court of Appeal will attempt again to bring Popoviciu back into the country.

In August 2019, a UK court ruled on Popoviciu's surrender to Bucharest, but on June 11, 2021, the London High Court upheld Popoviciu's appeal and annulled the extradition decision. The ruling was not final, though.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)