Romanian Politician Linked to HSBC Scandal

Amid the continuing fall out over the HSBC scandal, a journalistic project in Romania has named a key figure in the ruling party as one of those who held secret accounts in the Swiss branch of the British bank.

RISE Project, an independent journalism project in Romania, which studied the Swiss Leaks files, says Viorel Hrebenciuc, a key figure in the ruling Social Democratic Party, PSD, is one of the 219 Romanian clients who accounts opened with HSBC Switzerland.

It says Hrebenciuc opened an account at HSBC in 1996, to which three other people had access, including controversial businessman, Robert Deutsch.

Deutsch was one of the key people in an affair that took place in Romania in early 1990, when the state lost over $11 million US due to fraud.

The account belonging to Hrebenciuc was closed in 2006, at which time some $90,000 US was in the account.

Significantly, Hrebenciuc never disclosed information about this money in his wealth statement, a requirement for the period when he was an MP, between 2000 to 2014.

He resigned from parliament last October soon after investigators opened a case against him for peddling influence and corruption. He is also being investigated in another case, related to the re-privatisation of forests seized under the Communist regime.

Romanian officials have so far not reacted to information about Romanians involved in the HSBC scandal.

Of the 203 countries mentioned in the Swiss Leaks files, Romania is in 62nd position in terms of the number of accounts. It is followed by other Balkan countries: Bulgaria in 86th place, Serbia in 106th, Croatia on 107th, Montenegro in 132nd place, while Macedonia and Bosnia are in 157th and 164th place.

Romania is still considered one of the most...