Ex-Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu sentenced to 10yrs and 8 months in prison in a final ruling. APB on his name

The former mayor of the Capital, Sorin Oprescu, was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison for corruption by the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a final ruling.

He was charged with three counts of bribery, organized crime and abuse of office. The object of the flagrant in 2015 was the amount of 25,000 euros, received by Sorin Oprescu from a former director of the Cemeteries Administration. During the searches carried out at his home at that time, in addition to the 25,000 euros, sums of money were also found, which the former mayor could not justify in front of the investigators.

According to some sources for Digi24, Sorin Oprescu would have left Romania two weeks ago. The former mayor left the country through Giurgiu customs. Police has put out an APB on his name.

The sentence is double that received by Oprescu in 2019. Back then, Bucharest Tribunal had sentenced Sorin Oprescu to five years and four months in prison in this file.

On November 20, 2015, Sorin Oprescu was sent to trial along with several people, including Bogdan Popa – director of the Cultural Center of Brancoveni Palaces and later of the Administration of Cemeteries and Human Crematoria, Mircea Octavian Constantinescu – director of the Economic Department of the General City Hall, Florin Şupeală – director of the Cultural Center of Brâncoveneşti Palaces, Claudiu Bengalici – administrator of a commercial company, Cristian Stanca – former driver of Oprescu and Ruxandra Avasiloae – general director of the Cultural Center of Brâncoveneşti Palaces.

According to the anti-corruption prosecutors, since the end of 2013, Sorin Oprescu led an organized criminal group, formed by the director of the Administration of Cemeteries and Human Crematoria, Bogdan Cornel Popa, which aimed to commit corruption crimes, more precisely giving and taking bribes, from amounts from the municipal budget.

On September 5, 2015, Sorin Oprescu received at his home in Ciolpani the amount of 25,000 euros from his subordinate Bogdan Popa, money that would have come, according to DNA, from deeds of corruption.

Media: Prosecutors also seize Oprescu’s 2 villas worth around EUR 1.5 M

Apart from the actual punishment, prosecutors will also seize from the former mayor of Bucharest two buildings that are believed to have been appropriated by illegal means, Fanatik reports.

One of the villas is located in Herăstrău Street, Primăverii neighborhood. This villa does not appear in the last declaration of fortune of Sorin Oprescu, but the former mayor stayed here during the period when he was under house arrest.

According to prosecutors, the villa in Primaverii was bought by Sorin Oprescu through his lover, doctor Adriana Elena Nica. The money seems to have come from a bribe that the former mayor received from various businessmen. The price of such a building exceeds one million euros.

The second house that Sorin Oprescu will cede to the state is in the commune of Cioplani in Ilfov. The villa is one storey and has almost 500 square meters, its value being about 3-400,000 euros.

According to his wealth statement, Sorin Oprescu also has a 172sqm apartment in Bucharest.

The former mayor also had a plot of land of 500 sq m, in Predeal (apart from the lands related to the constructions he owns).

The judges also decided to confiscate the amounts of 102,400 lei and 9,500 euros, which were found on him when Oprescu was picked up by the police. Instead, the 25,000 euros that were found in his house will be returned to him.