The Supreme Court of Justice has denied all requests and exceptions filed by former Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea and ordered the start of a merit trial of him for abuse of office in relation with the spending of money from the budget of an intelligence service operating under his authority.
The decision is not final.
On the other hand, the preliminary judge refused to act on a request from the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) for the declassification of documents former Interior Minister Petre Toba refused to make available to prosecutors for investigation. Consequently, the declassification matter will be settled at a merit trial as well.
At a previous hearing, the Supreme Court informed the Constitutional Court about the declassification of the documents in question.
In May 2016, Oprea was sent to court by DNA prosecutors in a court file implicating the Interior Ministry's Internal Protection and Intelligence Directorate (DIPI). Oprea, who was a deputy prime minister for national security and interior minister, stands accused of abuse of office when an offending office holder gets ill-gotten gains for self or others.
Also sent to court in the same case are: Gheorghe Nicolae, currently a police principal quaestor, head of the DIPI at the time, for being an accomplice to abuse of office and two counts of embezzlement, of which one repeated; Gabriel-Nicolae Pavel, head of the DIPI Judicial Department at the time, for being an accomplice to abuse of office; Nelu Zarnica, chief quaestor, undersecretary of state at the time, and Marian-Danut Iacob, haed of an administrative office at the time, both for repeated misuse of funds.
DNA claims that Oprea, with the aid of Nicolae and Pavel, ordered an additional 410,000 lei for the operative spending of DIPI and approved the purchase of an Audi A8 automobile, allegedly for protection of dignitaries.
DNA says that August 21 - October 2015, Nicolae changed the destination of material resources allocated to the public body he was heading, namely of the Audi A8, purchased in collusion exclusively for the personal usage of then Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea.
Additionally, in 2014-2015, the same defendant repeatedly approved reports changing the destination of more than 238,000 lei worth of operative spending for protocol or endowment of DIPI that had nothing to do with the DIPI intel activities, actions or missions.
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