The chief of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), Codruta Kovesi said yesterday during the international conference on ‘Extended confiscation: how much do we recover?’ that courts ordered in 2012, in cases instrumented by the Directorate, the recovery of products obtained from crimes worth over EUR 107 M in total.
According to Kovesi, in order to achieve the purpose of the criminal law it is essential that criminals do not benefit from the obtained profits, only by confiscating these sums the people tempted to commit crimes are discouraged from such deeds. “Plus, the confiscated sums may represent a significant source of public incomes, an element that must not be ignored during this period,” Kovesi said, quoted by Mediafax. She added that the institution whose leader she is has as priority the increase of the recovery rate of claims resulting from crimes, which also is an objective assumed by the Romanian state through the National Anticorruption Strategy 2012-2015, as part of the measures that refer to fighting corruption through administrative and penal measures. This objective is also part of the recommendations made by the European Commission within the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (MCV).
Kovesi emphasised that DNA is the first prosecuting structure that enforced the extended confiscation, adding that this year the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) gave a definitive verdict in the case of assets belonging to defendants charged with corruption. Kovesi added that DNA must have a specialised structure of financial investigation, complementary to those that conduct the criminal prosecution for corruption acts which produced the financial profit of the suspect. The chief prosecutor of DNA mentioned that, with this regard, she proposed the minister of Justice to increase the number of police officer jobs within the Department.
On the other hand, Kovesi said that a probe was started in the information leaks about the file that has democrat-liberal Ioan Oltean charged with favouring the criminal, and those who divulged data about searches will be identified and face the penal consequences. DNA started on September 12 a criminal case against Ioan Oltean, president of the Bistrita-Nasaud county branch of PDL, vice-president and former secretary general of the party, for using his influence or authority in order to obtain money, goods or other undue benefits for himself or others, in continued form, and for favouring the criminal. The conference ‘Extended confiscation: how much do we recover?’ was also attended by the president of the Superior Council of Magistracy, Oana Schmidt Haineala, the general prosecutor of ICCJ, Tiberiu Nitu, the president of ICCJ, Livia Stanciu and the president of the National Integrity Agency, Horia Georgescu.
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