Former Transport minister jailed for fraud

Newsroom 31/01/2014 | 12:24

Former Romanian Transport Minister Relu Fenechiu was sentenced to five years in jail in a case nicknamed “The Transformer”. His brother Lucian Fenechiu got a similar sentence. Both will have to serve the time, without the possibility for parole.

The court decision issued on Thursday, January 30, is final and cannot be further appealed. A previous court had issued the same jail sentence, and the Supreme Court kept it, rejecting the appeal. When he got the first jail sentence in this case, Fenechiu was still acting Transport Minister, but later on resigned.

Prosecutors said the crime involved the sale of antiquated electrical appliances at current market prices to the state electricity company between 2002 and 2005, costing the nation $2.3 million.

In addition to sending Relu Fenechiu, who served as transportation minister in 2012 and 2013, and his brother and business associate Lucian Fenechiu to prison for five years, the court ordered Relu to pay $1.72 million in damages.

Relu Fenechiu, a vice-president in the National Liberal Party PNL, was the Minister of Transport between December 2012 and July 2013, in the cabinet led by Social Democrat leader Victor Ponta.