DNA maintains Senate's Tariceanu allegedly received 800,000 US dollars benefits from Austrian company

The Senate President, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, indirectly received, 2007 to 2008, when he was prime minister, material benefits worth US about 800,000 dollars from an Austrian company, the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) shows in a reply sent to AGERPRES. 

"The prosecutors are conducting an investigation aimed at suspicions in relation to corruption offences having been committed regarding the cover-up of certain electoral campaign expenses with sums of money from a company that would have obtained important commercial contracts from the Romanian state. The case was set up in 2018, when three criminal cases were brought together, of which one was taken over by the DNA prosecutors at the request of the Austrian judicial authorities. Specifically, a dignitary would have indirectly received between 2007 and 2008 material benefits amounting to approximately 800,000 US dollars from the representatives of an Austrian company in exchange for the steps taken by the former in the exercise of his position, so that more additional acts be concluded to a commercial contract conducted by the company. The amount would represent a commission of 10 percent of the value of these additional documents and would have been used for the benefit of the dignitary, being transferred under fictitious contracts concluded with several offshore companies," reads the reply sent upon AGERPRES's request. 

DNA maintains that prosecution is being carried out in this case against other persons for committing the offense of complicity to bribery, and as far as Tariceanu is concerned, in accordance with the legal and constitutional provisions, conducting the criminal prosecution for the offence of bribery is conditioned by an opinion from the Senate being obtained. 

In this regard, the Chief Prosecutor of the DNA sent to the Prosecutor General the necessary documents for the notification of the Senate that is due to decide. 

DNA further affirms that the opinion requested for Tariceanu is necessary for the prosecution to be fully conducted and to give him the opportunity to formulate his defense in a legal framework.