The Lower Chamber’s legal committee has vetoed the criminal prosecution against Social Democrat MP Eugen Bejinariu, former minister, on Wednesday.
The committee has passed by 16 votes to 7 and one abstention the report rejecting the criminal prosecution request.
The chairman of the committee Eugen Nicolicea proposed a veto of the criminal prosecution, arguing that the crimes Bejinariu is charged with didn’t exist at the time when the deeds have been committed.
The anti-corruption prosecutors want to take Bejinariu to court, accusing him of breaking the public procurement provisions while he was secretary general in Nastase Government. He is charged with initiating and endorsing several government decisions in December 2003 and April 2004 that Okayed a commercial contract on Microsoft licenses clinched between the Government and Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH, thus favoring the company to avoid a public sale.
Eugen Bejinariu is also suspected of initiating a government decision Okaying the extension of the Microsoft license contract in October 2004.
The prejudice caused to the state was estimated for USD 66,965,343, representing the undue benefit for Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH.
In retort, Liberal deputy Florin Roman accused the ruling party, PSD and the legal committee’s chairman Nicolicea that they invoke tricks that are not related to the matter. PNL and USR have voted for the criminal prosecution against Bejinariu, arguing it’s the prosecutors who have to decide if he is guilty or not.
Last year there were three attempts to lift Eugen Bejinariu’s parliamentary immunity in order to be prosecuted in the Microsoft case, but every time the Parliament hasn’t reached the quorum in the plenary sittings to decide over this issue.
Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar sent a letter to the Chamber of Deputies speaker Liviu Dragnea on Monday, asking him to speed up procedures in Bejinariu case.