Hrebenciuc unveils financing proceeding during Mircea Geoana’s presidential campaign in 2009

Former Social Democrat MP Viorel Hrebenciuc was heard on Thursday in a file regarding alleged bribe for the Social Democrat Party during Mircea Geoana’s presidential campaign. He stated that Mircea Geoana, as former PSD president and presidential candidate, was aware of the financing ways of the presidential campaign. Hrenbeciuc said that it was Geoana who sent him at businessman Ioan Niculae to ask him to contribute to the campaign, yet adding he cannot mention that Geoana would have had illegal intentions.

Viorel Hrebenciuc used to be the chief of Geoana’s presidential campaign in 2009.

“I had a meeting with Mr. Niculae and I asked him, on behalf of Mr. Geoana, to contribute to his electoral campaign. Mr. Niculae agreed to this. One of Niculae’s representatives talked to Mr. Teodorescu (Alin Teodorescu, INSOMAR head). I don’t know what they talked, after that I heard that at Interagro (Niculae’s holding) and INSOMAR a study was conducted regarding the constructions’ situation in Romania, but in fact there was a survey regarding the opinion polls about Geoana, as presidential candidate (….) Insomar cashed the payment in,” Hrebenciuc stated.

The former PSD lawmaker pointed out that payments for such studies used to be made following discussions between Mircea Geoana and Sorin Ovidiu Vantu, who was shareholder at INSOMAR, but also between Geoana and other companies contributing to the electoral campaign.

Mircea Geoana retorted that he was not dealing with the campaign financing while he was running for Presidency in 2009. He also denied he had ever sent Hrebenciuc to talk to businessmen, pointing out that if his former presidential campaign chief did that, he did it voluntarily.