Money laundering

A Bucharest court on Monday jailed Ovidiu Tender for 12 years and seven months without parole for defrauding the Romanian petrochemical plant Carom Onesti, which went bankrupt.

Tender's former associate, Marian Iancu, got a 14-year sentence. Last year Iancu was sentenced to 12 years in jail for tax evasion and money laundering at Rafo Onesti, another refinery in eastern Romania.

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta is investigated on suspicion of crimes including forgery, money-laundering, conflict of interest and tax evasion.

This was announced on Friday by Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors, Reuters reported.

Even 30 years would not suffice for the existing mechanisms to complete their investigation of all seven lists of suspected tax dodgers and money launderers that financial prosecutors have in their hands, accounting for billions of euros.

The Vatican?s financial watchdog agency said May 29 that it received 147 reports of suspicious financial transactions last year, a sign that tough new anti-money laundering norms are taking hold at its scandal-marred bank.

The Government passed on Wednesday the bill on the establishment of the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets, which will report to the Ministry of Justice.

Photo credit: (c) Liviu SOVA / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

Prosecutors and police officers are conducting today 75 domiciliary visits in Bucharest City and the counties of Ilfov, Timis, Calarasi, Buzau, Teleorman, Bacau, Prahova and Ialomita and enforcing 58 summons in a 3-million-euro fraud from tax evasion and money laundering.

Photo credit: (c) Radu TUTA / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

The Three-member Court of Felony Appeals will be holding a hearing on the case of NGO “International Centre for Demining”. The hearing will include a total of eight members, including Alex Rondos, formerly a close associate of former PM George Papandreou. Their trial was decided by the Athens Board of Appeals.

The Sofia City Court has impounded property worth BGN 1 555 883 owned by former Deputy Speaker of Parliament Hristo Biserov and his stepson, Ivaylo Glavinkov.

The measure was requested by the Commission for Illegal Assets Forfeiture (CIAF), according to reports of the BGNES news agency.

The trial of former Proton Bank Chairman Lavrentis Lavrentiadis and another 42 people ran into problems Friday as the lawyers of all 43 defendants resigned from the case over a legal technicality. This means the court will have to appoint new lawyers for the trial to continue.

DOHA/BELGRADE- By respecting the principles of UN conventions, Serbia is taking measures in the fight against high-technology crime and money laundering, as well as in the cooperation against narcotics trade, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Sunday.