High-level scandal

A huge political and corruption scandal, which has been given wide coverage by the media, erupted in Bucharest, after the Romanian Presidents brother was taken into custody by anti-corruption prosecutors.

Bogdan Matei, 20.06.2014, 13:43

Less than 6 months before completing his last term in office, which he is entitled to under the Constitution, President Traian Basescu is experiencing the most embarrassing moment of his tenure as head of state, a decade during which he stood out mostly due to his fight against corruption. His brother, Mircea, is at the centre of a tragic-comic file of influence peddling. Anti-corruption prosecutors accuse him of accepting a 250,000 Euro bribe, to try to influence a favourable ruling in a lawsuit in which Sandu Anghel was charged with attempted murder, after having stabbed a relative of his.

A controversial person, Anghel is better known under the nickname of Bercea Mondial, for his criminal activities, being considered the “godfather” of the Gypsy mob in the southern Romanian region of Oltenia. Some claim he is almost illiterate, but nobody denies his ability to insinuate himself into some people’s favour, in various high circles, which theoretically should have been inaccessible to him and on whose support and protection he had counted on. He did that thanks to money and his capacity to influence the voting preferences of the Roma community.

Two of Bercea Mondial’s grandsons have been godfathered by the former Prime Minister of Romania between 1991-1992, MEP Theodor Stolojan and by the brother of the incumbent president, himself a businessman, respectively. At present Bercea Mondial is accusing Mircea Basescu of having taken bribe in exchange for trying to release him from prison.

Although the video footage presented by the media is not at all favourable to him, Mircea Basescu firmly denies the accusations. Furthermore, he denies any involvement of his illustrious brother into this hallucinating story. In his turn, the President has given assurances that he will not intervene and will not interfere with the activity of any state institution in order to protect his brother.

Traian Băsescu: “I will not turn myself into one of his lawyers, the more so as it seems to me that he got involved in things and mingled with some people he shouldn’t have. I start from the idea that we are all equal before the law, and being the president’s brother does not exempt him from being held responsible before justice and law.”

Even Basescu’s most bitter and worst political enemies seem to be embarrassed by the moment. Prime Minister Victor Ponta has called on the president to resign, and thus eliminate any suspicion that he might influence the investigation, but he didn’t make the request very convincingly.

Beyond the political stake, the multiple facets of the case raise even bigger question marks. How did Mondial’s ethnic Roma family collect 2 million Euros, the huge amount that is mentioned in interviews? Have the relevant fiscal institutions ever collected taxes on this money? Should the special services have investigated the symbiosis between the underground world and the president’s extended family? Should the president have been warned of his young brother’s weaknesses, as they posed security risks? Were the services aware of the whole situation but chose to keep silent?

Far from finding converging answers, the media and pundits agree that the huge high-level scandal has just begun and we’ve seen only the beginning of it.