In a ruling announced on September 26, a Bucharest court sentenced former senator and media mogul Dan Voiculescu to five years in prison with no remission.
The honorary president of the Conservative Party and founder of the Intact Media Group, which includes such titles as daily Jurnalul national, “was found guilty of money laundering in the course of a deal to privatise the Food Research Institute,” explains România liberă. The losses incurred by the Ministry for Agriculture in the transaction have been estimated at €60m.
Even if he can file an appeal, the Bucharest daily argues that —
… the sentencing of Voiculescu may prove to be a turning point for public life in Romania which puts an end to the moral turpitude that accompanied the period of transition [following the Revolution of 1989]. With the verdict, the former Securitate’s stranglehold on Romanian society will be weaker. And we will breathe easier.
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