The social-democrat head of Arges County Council, Constantin Nicolescu, has been placed yesterday evening under remand for 24 hours, by the DNA prosecutors, Realitatea TV reports.
The Office of Constantin Nicolescu, the Social-Democrat president of the Arges County Council, was raided by prosecutors with the Pitesti Office of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA), over the Council’s alleged ROL 125,000 donation to the Archdiocese of Arges and Muscel.
People familiar with the inquiry said the money was donated in 2009, for the local diocese being elevated to the rank of archdiocese and for restoration works at the San Nicoar” Church in Curtea de Arges respectively. The same sources however made the point that the charges brought against the County Council president are yet to be known.
“No formal charge has been brought so far, Mr. Constantin Nicolescu has not been informed on his relation to the case. A search is going on. The focus is on a sponsorship case and Mr. Nicolescu might be invited to the DNA Pitesti, yet, so far, he has not been informed neither of the charges nor of his being called to the DNA,” Radu Rotaru, Nicolescu’s lawyer, said, who described the search as baseless, as long as the County Council has collaborated with investigators and made available all the documents requested. “The matter regards the allocation of certain amounts of money to the Archdiocese of Arges and Muscel. I can’t tell what the amounts in question are and I don’t know more details either,” Rotaru said.
After the raid was completed, prosecutors escorted Nicolescu to the local DNA office for hearings, Mediafax said.
This is not the first time Nicolescu, who is also the president of the Arges branch of the Social-Democrat Party, is to meet with prosecutors. He was repeatedly called for hearings by prosecutors in Sept. 2009, in a football referee bribing case involving Cornel Penescu, according to “Adevarul” daily newspaper.
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