One more suspended sentence, businessman Horia Simu released from prison

By Romania Journal Last updated Dec 21, 2018

The Supreme Court has ruled on Friday to suspend the execution of jail time in the case of businessman Horia Simu in the file where he had been sentenced to four years in prison and to release him until a final ruling in his case. Horia Simu had been convicted in the same file as the former DIICOT chief prosecutor, Alina Bica.

Judges will debate Simu’s appeal on January 21, 2019.

Horia Simu has got a final ruling in this case on June 2018, being sentenced to four years in prions for purchase of influence. Alina Bica has been acquitted in this file, but the former ANAF head Serban Pop, has been sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Prosecutors say that on November 8, 2014, Alina Bica, as chief prosecutor of DIICOt, has indirectly received, from an agent (who is a witness who denounced the case) EUR 17.500 out of the total of EUR 20,000. The bribe had been given by Serban Pop to make the DIICOT head favorably solve a criminal file that related to Horia Simu.

The sum of EUR 20,000 represented a part of the total EUR 230,000 that Simu had been giving in instalments during eight months of 2014 to Serban Pop, so that the letter should make appropriate representations to Alina Bica.

The Supreme Court (High Court of Cassation and Justice-ICCJ) has decided on Thursday afternoon to suspend the execution of sentence for Elena Udrea, former tourism minister, sentenced in ‘Bute Gala’ file until the appeal is finally solved, her lawyer, Veronel Radulescu, said. Udrea is currently in Costa Rica, imprisoned together with former DIICOT chief Alina Bica.

As for Alina Bica, the Supreme Court has upheld her appeal, so her final ruling of 4 years in prison is practically suspended.

The ICCJ ruled on Wednesday night to release from prison several VIPs investigated for corruption in high-sounding files, after their lawyers had challenged in court the legality of the five-judge panels that had put them behind bars.

So, Rudel Obreja, the former head of the Romanian Box Federation, convicted in Bute Gala case, Dan Sova, former PSD senator, sentenced in CET Govora case and former Communications minister Constantin Nita, sentenced 4 years in prison for influence peddling, namely for receiving bribe for businessman Tiberiu Urdareanu, have been all released from Jilava Penitentiary were they had been imprisoned.