Raya Nazaryan, GERB, June 1, 2024, in the program “Wake Up” on Nova TV, in response to a question from host Marina Tsekova:
Marina Tsekova: “Do you believe that our judicial system is independent enough to really identify people involved in high-level corruption? Look, in Romania, how many politicians were sent to prison, in Bulgaria there is not a single one at this stage. “
Raya Nazaryan: “First, for Romania, let me tell you that those politicians who were sent [to prison] were later acquitted. So there was some other current going on there.“
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The statement of the deputy from the GERB parliamentary group Raya Nazaryan is misleading. Since the creation of Romania's National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) in 2002, dozens of Romanian local and state officials have been convicted, some of whom have already served their sentences.
There are many examples of prominent political figures in our northern neighbor who received final sentences for corruption over the years. Among the notable ones we can list the former Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, the former Romanian Minister of Tourism Elena Udrya, the former head of the Romanian Directorate for the Investigation of Crimes of Organized Crime and Terrorism Alina Bika, the former Finance Minister of Romania Darius Valkov, the former leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnia. The large number of convicted politicians is also evidenced by the DNA reports, which include the charges filed in court and the final verdicts over the years.
According to the report on the activities of the Romanian National Anti-Corruption Directorate for 2023, only 27% of corruption charges brought to court end in an acquittal. The total number of defendants was 651, and of them 226 persons held management, control, public or other important positions. The statistics also include cases sent for consideration by the court more than 10 years ago, whose statute of limitations has expired. For 2023, there were 144 criminal proceedings terminated by statute of limitations.
For the same year, two deputies, one senator, one minister, five mayors of cities, one deputy mayor and three mayors of villages received final convictions in cases of serious corruption against persons holding public positions.
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The claim that Romanian politicians arrested for corruption were subsequently acquitted is misleading. Among Romanian politicians accused of corruption, there are also acquitted ones. However, official statistics show that the majority of political figures tried for corruption in Romania are found guilty.