Court in Malta decided to extradite Paul of Romania, yet ruling not final

A court in Malta decided to extradite fugitive Paul-Philippe of Romania, sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in prison for influence peddling and complicity, as a result of his participation in a cartel to recover properties that he claimed in the country as of heir to the royal family. The decision of the court in Malta, where Paul de Romania is currently imprisoned, is not final.

The Ministry of Justice announced on Monday that the court of first instance in Malta decided to extradite Paul-Philippe of Romania, sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in prison for buying influence and complicity in abuse of office and for a damage of 9.5 million euro.

The decision is not final and can be appealed.

The Ministry of Justice states that by mid-June, 383 fugitives had been brought into the country. The ranking of the countries from which the most were brought is led by Great Britain, followed by Germany and Italy.

The Ministry of Justice reminds that “The Fugitive Pays Law” has been in force since June 7. As of this date, all fugitives will be required to bear the costs of bringing them into the country. In the meantime, the decision of the Constitutional Court is awaited regarding the law by which the evasion of the execution of the sentence is assimilated to the crime of escape.

Paul-Philippe of Romania was arrested on April 28 in Malta, based on a European arrest warrant issued by Romanian justice in December 2020.

He was visiting the Mediterranean island for an official ceremony, not suspecting that he would be arrested there, according to his lawyer Miriame Laïchi.

Aged 75, he was a refugee in France, and his lawyers had managed to get the French judiciary to reject the execution of the arrest warrant at the end of 2023.