DNA 2019 report: Number of defendants with final sentences in courts declines; majority - suspended sentences

Last year, Romania's courts ordered final sentences for 422 persons in cases of corruption instrumented by the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) prosecutors, decreasing compared to a number of 584 as recorded in 2018, as the majority received suspended sentences.

"In 2019, the courts continued to order conviction solutions in cases of high corruption. Although the number of persons who received a final sentence (422) decreased compared to those sentenced in the previous year (584), conviction decisions have been issued in important cases. By way of example, there have been sentenced three deputies (of whom one was the Speaker of the Deputies' Chamber), a secretary of state with the Justice Ministry, a secretary of state with the Health Ministry, a secretary of state and a personal counselor within the Transport Ministry, a chief of cabinet within the MAI [the Interior Ministry], five judges, three prosecutors, a president of the ANAF [National Agency for Fiscal Administration], a deputy president of the ANRP [the National Authority for Property Restitution], a director general of the Romanian Lottery National Company, four county council presidents, four municipality mayors, three deputy-mayors, other mayors of communes, public servants with management positions in the local administration and at the level of some state-owned companies," the DNA activity report on 2019 presented on Monday by the DNA head Crin Bologa showed.

Bologa explained that, in terms of the punishments enforced in case of the final sentences in the DNA cases, it was noted that the same configuration was maintained, with slight differences every year.

Thus, it is noted that, with a 51 percent, the imprisonment penalties with the suspension of execution under supervision are predominant, whereas the punishments with detentions reach 27 percent.

In 2019, the courts ordered the confiscation and recovery of criminal products worth approximately 120 million euro against 76 million euro as recorded in 2018, an increase of almost 60 percent being registered.