Update: The Romanian Intelligence Service announced that an inquiry committee had been set up within the institution and that the first deputy director of the Service, Florian Coldea, had been suspended from office, being at the SRI director’s disposal until the checks were concluded.
Former MP Sebastian Ghita features in a new video footage broadcast by Romania TV, talking about his relationship with the deputy director of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), Florian Coldea. Ghita says that he went on several vacations abroad with Coldea, also releasing a photo allegedly featuring their wives. The former deputy also claims that President Iohannis is Coldea’s and Kovesi’s “prisoner”.
Ghita claims in the new video footage that he has travelled abroad with Florian Coldea and his family in various holidays, also releasing a photo allegedly shot at Disneyland, featuring several people, including two women, about whom Ghita claims that are his wife and Coldea’s wife. Florian Coldea’s wife, Dorin Coldea, also works with the Romanian Intelligence Service.
“In early 2010, early February, we went on vacations in Seychelles, just us and our families. We were before the PSD Congress and we decided to go on vacation on an exotic island. We were accommodated at the same hotel, Hilton Seychelles Nord Resort, which can be checked. I have accidentally found the envelope with the invoices from the hotel at home. We stayed ten days and I remember that I was asking him to help Victor Ponta win the Social Democrat Party leadership, while Coldea said that Traian Basescu didn’t want Ponta. Diaconescu, Geoana, anyone else except for Ponta to become PSD chairman. Dan Andronic from Evenimentul Zilei can confirm you, as we crossed on the airport in Istanbul on our way back. He talked to me and Florian Coldea when we went aboard in the plane. Coldea was scared of Andronic back then and, although he had a business class air-travel ticket, he changed to the economic class. He was afraid Basescu would find out with whom he was on holiday. It was not the only one vacation spent with Florian Coldea. In October 2012 we went with Vasile Dincu and my brother-in-law Cristi Anastasescu in Tuscany, Italy, where we were accommodated at a villa named Locanda Dell’Amorosa. Here is a document with our names on it from that villa (…) I give one more example of such a vacation with our families in Disneyland, Paris, and a photo featuring Florian Coldea’s wife, general Dorin Coldea,” Ghita said.
The businessman also claims that president Klaus Iohannis is the prisoner of Laura Codruta Kovesi (DNA chief prosecutor) and of Florian Coldea, as he is afraid of the files that might be opened against his wife, Carmen Iohannis.
“However, at some point I told Mr. Coldea that there have been many years since he has been running Romania and that I don’t see things as clearly as I used to in the beginning (…) I told him back then that people, Romanians would begin to blame Coldea and Kovesi for the disaster in the past ten years.
The result of the past ten years of fear and terror was to bring Iohannis in power, together with Ciolos’ technocrats from Brussels. Iohannis is Coldea’s and Kovesi’s prisoner, I said that in the Romanian Parliament. He is afraid of the files that might be opened against Mrs. Carmen Iohannis and president Iohannis is also afraid of what’s going to happen after the Presidency’s office.
For ten years, Florian Coldea and Codruta Kovesi, have been running either the Prosecutor’s Office or the DNA or the SRI. They are supporting each other and annihilating any threat against them. Today, they are defying Romanians’ vote.This cannot be accepted in a democracy. To get involved in the political game, to threat a party chairman, to block the appointment of a party leader who won the elections in the PM position, to exert a media terrorism through the undercover agents, to tolerate the influence of Soros’ NGOs in Romania and in the Romanian politics (…),” Ghita also stated.
About the alleged encounter on the Isntabul airport with Dan Andronic, the journalist confirmed that he had indeed met the SRI’s first deputy director on that airport, however claiming he doesn’t remember seeing Sebastian Ghita there.
“I remembered the meeting with general Coldea in Istanbul. I didn’t remember the time, but I know it was after the 2008 elections. It was a Tarom flight. I confirm I talked to general Coldea on the airport in Istanbul. I don’t’ remember Sebastian Ghita, I didn’t know him back then. As for the rest, the story of exchanging the air-travel tickets, I don’t know it,” Dan Andronic told Romania TV.
Coldea, suspended
“Following information released in the public regarding Mr. general-lieutenant Florian Coldea and which have been preliminarily checked, SRI director, Mr. Eduard Hellvig ordered, according to the proceedings, setting up a special inquiry committee to probe into potential law or professional deontology breaches. In this respect, until the checks are concluded, Mr. general-lieutenant Florian Coldea is placed under the Director’s power, according to the legal provisions, while his duties as first deputy director of the Romanian Intelligence Service will be taken over by the SRI Director, Mr. Eduard Hellvig. All circumstances presented in public, as well as the documents provided by general-lieutenant Florian Coldea are being analyzed,” SRI announced.
The Service also added that it “has developed internal mechanisms to investigate any clues related to law or internal regulation breaches, based on a methodology and procedure validated in time.”
Reactions
Former president Train Basescu told Mediafax that the SRI investigation in Florian Coldea case is a natural reaction for the “media roller had come too far”, also voicing hope the inquiry will be a fair one to bring the truth to light.
Asked if Coldea’s suspension was needed long time before, Traian Basescu stated that “it’s hard to tell”.
Former deputy Elena Udrea, who has denounced general Coldea in previous occasions, also commented the intelligence high-ranking official’s suspension. “Two years ago, on January 30, 2015, I said in the fatidic interview to Hotnew, for the first time, that there is a SRI general, Coldea who is running Romania, through the terror of the handcuffs in Kovesi’s hands. I said that those two are acting like mobsters, that they are illegal beneficiaries of goods and advantages, that they are cutting in business, in politics, decide who should run institutions, who should run in elections or win elections, who is free or not. The next day, 7 requests followed, to detain me and place me under preventive arrest (….),” Udrea said.
On the other hand, former member of the parliamentary committee for SRI control, SocDem Daniel Savu stated that that Romanian Intelligence Service has an internal protection department that should have come up with a file on this case and that no inquiry committee was required for that. “It’s a questionable decision, for SRI has a department of internal protection that should have already had a file ready. There was no need for any committee, when the ones from the Internal Protection should have come up with all information. It must have been a file,” Savu said.