The NAC synthesis: former head of BEM detained in a new money laundering case and sentenced in non-performing loans case; 849 assets worth over 42.2 million lei seized
The National Anti-corruption Centre (NAC) presents the main actions carried out during the past week in the field of combating and preventing corruption, as well as in the criminal assets recovery.
During the reporting period, the NAC officers, together with prosecutors from the Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO), detained a former president of Banca de Economii (BEM) in a new criminal case involving large-scale money laundering. The suspect allegedly solicited and accepted bribes to facilitate the granting of certain loans, subsequently transferring the resulting funds abroad to conceal their illicit origin. Concurrently, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison in the non-performing loans case initiated in 2013. In the same case, four other members of the Credit Committee from the 2005–2012 period were found guilty of violating lending rules and sentenced to 8, 7 (two defendants), and 5 years in prison, respectively. Through these actions, Banca de Economii suffered damages of approximately 3 billion lei. Furthermore, the court partially allowed the civil action and ordered the joint recovery from the defendants of over 1.6 billion lei in favour of the bank.
During the reference period, criminal investigation officers reported the initiation of 24 new criminal cases and proposed 5 cases for trial. Currently, two individuals are held in the NAC detention facility, while fourteen other defendants in cases managed by the NAC are placed in pre-trial detention in penitentiaries.
The Criminal Assets Recovery Agency (CARA) placed seizures on 849 assets valued at over 42.2 million lei in a case involving the creation or leadership of a criminal organization. Other previously applied seizures, valued at over 3.6 million lei, were confirmed by the courts. Additionally, a freezing order was issued for a transport vehicle.
In the field of corruption prevention, the NAC submitted 20 expertise reports and one opinion on draft legislative acts to the authors. Furthermore, 176 integrity records were issued. The National Anti-corruption Hotline received 49 calls, and 1,955 documents were registered in the institution's Chancellery.