Romanian lawmaker panel partially decriminalizes abuse of office

Radu-Sorin Marinas
4 MIN READ

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - A committee of Romanian lawmakers voted on Monday to

partially decriminalize abuse of office, a change that if enacted could overturn a
prison sentence against the ruling party leader and further strain ties with the
European Union.

The vote appears the latest twist in a regional drama that has seen the EU accuse
several eastern European post-communist countries of plotting to put their courts
under political control and weaken the rule of law, allegations they deny.

Romania is seen as one of the EU’s most corrupt states, and Brussels has kept its
justice system under special monitoring since its 2007 accession to the bloc.
Arguments about how hard to fight graft have dominated its post EU-entry politics.

Monday’s vote was taken by a committee headed by Florin Iordache, who quit as
justice minister in early 2017 after a failed attempt to decriminalize several
graft offences triggered the biggest rallies since the 1989 anti-communist
revolution.

The changes filed by the justice ministry cleared the panel by a 13/7 margin in a
session dominated by ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) MPs, who also have a
comfortable majority in the legislative.

Last month, the Supreme Court sentenced PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, who is also the
speaker of the lower house of parliament, to 3-1/2 years in jail for inciting other
public officials to commit abuse of office. The ruling is not final and can be
challenged in court.

Critics say Dragnea’s preliminary jail sentence for abuse of office could become
void as neither he nor his relatives benefited from the alleged offences, although
the court ruled that some of his party’s employees - also sentenced in the case -
did.

Under the amendments, abuse of office would no longer be a crime if prosecutors

could not prove the public official in question had committed the deed for his own
benefit or for the benefit of first- or second-degree relatives.

Moreover, the committee voted to decriminalize actions as a result of which a

public official gains under 1,900 lei ($474.25), a change that appears to redefine
abuse of office.

The lawmakers also voted to lower the maximum jail sentence for abuse of office to
five years from seven currently, and decided that convicts older than 60 would
serve only one third of their overall sentence to prison.

Anti-graft prosecutors have said that over 200 abuse of office offences that are
currently making their way through the courts could be immediately scrapped when
new changes take effect.

The bill will be sent to the upper house, the senate, for debate on Tuesday. A vote
in the lower house, which has the final say on the bill, is expected before July
19, when an extraordinary legislative session which began on July 2 ends.

Anti-corruption prosecutors have secured a spate of convictions against lawmakers,

ministers and mayors in recent years, exposing conflicts of interest, abuse of
power, fraud and the awarding of state contracts in exchange for bribes.
But leading politicians, some of whom are currently under investigation or on
trial, have denied wrongdoing and accused prosecutors of using their powers for
political persecution.

Editing by William Maclean

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WORLD NEWSJULY 3, 2018 / 11:52 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Former Malaysian PM Najib arrested in graft probe
Joseph Sipalan, Rozanna Latiff
3 MIN READ

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian anti-corruption agents arrested former Prime

Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday following a probe into how money went missing from
a state fund he founded almost a decade ago and authorities said he would be
charged in court on Wednesday.