UPDATE: The Israelis accused of spying DNA chief were hired by two media moguls, sources say. They remain under remand for 20 days

The Bucharest Court of Appeal has ruled on Tuesday to cut the remand period for the two Israelis accused of spying the DNA chief to 20 days. The court has upheld their contestations and decided to cut down the remand period from 30 to 20 days, hotnews.ro reports.

Two media moguls have hired the Israelis accused of having spied on the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) chief Laura Codruta Kovesi, sources close to the investigation have told HotNews.ro. According to these sources allegedly is about moguls investigated by the DNA. Currently Adrian Sarbu, Sebastian Ghita, Dan Voiculescu, Dan Diaconescu and Sorin Ovidiu Vantu are investigated by DNA or prosecuted under various charges in other files, the last three being already sentenced.

It is unclear whether besides the two media moguls there are other names involved in hiring the Israelis.

DIICOT officially announced on April 3 that two employees of the Israeli company Black Cube were detained and preventively arrested on charges that they tried to spy the DNA chief.

Ron Weiner reportedly received EUR 5,000 for the mission in Romania, which was the salary from the company Black Cube. The two Israelis were given a list of eight people to keep under surveillance, among them the DNA chief prosecutor Laura Codruţa Kovesi and other persons close to her.

The two testified before the prosecutors as to where they are from, who has sent them, but they did not know who hired them as their contract was with Black Cube, judicial sources say.

According to the same sources, the two were originally quoted by the Prosecutor General’s Office who ordered judicial control, then the file was sent to DIICOT.

How were the two caught?

According to cancan.ro the two Israelis were working during the day, spying on Kovesi’s entourage, while at night they were relaxing.

The paper reveals that the two spent large amounts of money in the hotel’s casino, the hotel they were arrested in. Reportedly, they spent some EUR 15,000 on alcoholic drinks and gambling, from the very first day they arrived in Bucharest.  The source reads that in the first night they bet some EUR 3,000 on roulette and lost. On their bill there are expensive drinks, champagne, whisky and food.