Former minister of Communication Dan Nica and former minister of Education Alexandru Athanasiu are criminally prosecuted for abuse of office in the Microsoft 2 case. They are investigated under judicial control, meaning they face legal restriction pending trial.
Anti-corruption prosecutors have started criminal prosecution against the two former ministers, as well as against Adriana Ticau, former minister of Communication during July-December 2004 for abuse of office if the public servant obtained an undue benefit for herself or for the others.
During judicial control, Athanasiu and Nica are banned to leave Romania without the preliminary consent of the prosecutors.
Anti-corruption chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi on November 23 asked president Klaus Iohannis to give his go-ahead for the prosecution against ex-ministers Dan Nica, Adriana Țicău and Alexandru Athanasiu in this case.
DNA accuses Dan Nica that, as minister of Communications, initiated and endorsed several draft decisions that Okayed the commercial contract on the Microsoft licenses clinched between Romania’s Gov’t and Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH. He is charged with the violation of the legal framework in regard to public procurement.
Dan Nica, former minister of Communications during 2000-2004 is charged with abuse of office if the public servant obtained an undue benefit for himself or for others. Adriana Ticau, facing the same charge, was secretary of state in the Ministry of Communications during 2003-June 2004 and former minister of Communications during July-December 2004. Alexandru Athanasiu was former minister of Education.
The anti-corruption prosecutors argue that Fujitsu Siemens Computers was falsely declared the only distributor of these products in Romania so that the company should be favoured to avoid a public sale. Thus, through his activity, Nica would have damaged the state by USD 47,594,843.
The same goes for Adriana Ticau, with prosecutors saying she caused a damage of almost USD 67 million to the state budget.
As for Athanasiu, he is charged of breaking the public procurement provisions by initiating and endorsing a Gov’t decision in October 2004 Okaying the extension of the commercial contract with Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH. He would have caused a damage of about USD 19 M to the state budget.