Romania Ex-Ministers Jailed Over Privatisation Scam

Romania's appeals court on Tuesday jailed former economy minister Codrut Seres and former communications minister Zsolt Nagy for their roles in a transnational crime group involved in the privatisation of several companies.

The case was seen as a test of Romania's ability to conduct high-level corruption trials.

Seres got four years and eight months for joining the group and for disclosing secret information, while Nagy got four years for giving classified information to a group of international consultants.

Eight other persons, including a Czech, a Bulgarian and a Turkish citizen, also received jail sentences.

Prosecutors said that between May 2005 and November 2006 the group obtained secret commercial documents that they then passed on to foreign companies bidding for Romanian state-owned telecom and energy firms.

Romania is still considered one of the most corrupt states in the European Union and has made only limited progress in fighting corruption and organised crime since it joined the EU in 2007.

However, in recent years, the number of high-ranking officials sentenced for graft has increased significantly.