Romania: 1,300 officials prosecuted for graft last year
BUCHAREST, Romania — Nearly 1,300 officials were sent to trial last year in Romania in corruption cases with damages amounting to 260 million euros ($273 million), the country’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor said Thursday.
Laura Kovesi Codruta, who heads the country’s anti-graft agency, said three ministers, 17 lawmakers, 16 magistrates and 20 state company officials were among high-level cases targeted by the agency last year.
Kovesi, presenting the agency’s annual report to senior judges, prosecutors and magistrates at the ornate National Military Circle in downtown Bucharest, said prosecutors need predictable laws to do their job.
Last month, the government issued a highly contentious decree that would have decriminalized official misconduct, sparking weeks of massive anti-graft protests. Premier Sorin Grindeanu eventually cancelled the measure.