Euractiv: Real estate scandal engulfs Romania’s Social Democrats

Romanian authorities have detained former Social Democratic MPs for their alleged involvement in a property scandal that has defrauded several Romanians, with media speculating that Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu may be implicated, www.euractiv.com reports.   The Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Bucharest announced on Tuesday that it had ordered the detention of 11 people in the Nordis case and placed two defendants under judicial supervision. On Monday and Tuesday, police and prosecutors carried out more than 60 searches at locations in Romania and Monaco.   Among those detained are former Social Democrat MP Laura Vicol, who chaired the legal affairs committee of the Chamber of Deputies in the previous legislature, and her husband, Vladimir Ciorba, the main shareholder in the Nordis group. The two are accused of forming an organised criminal group that "designed and implemented a complex criminal mechanism involving the promotion and development of real estate projects under the cover of several commercial companies, followed by the collection of money from buyers and the embezzlement of company funds," according to a DIICOT statement.   The group's property company devised a scheme whereby Nordis collected large sums of money in advance from people who paid in full for flats but never received them.   The case also included hearings of the notary Andreea Cosma, a former PSD MP, and Ioana Basescu, the daughter of former President Traian Basescu, who certified several promises to sell apartments.   The scandal could reach the very top of the PSD. G4Media revealed that Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had flown on a private jet several times, with some flights allegedly paid for by a company in the Nordis group.   The prime minister initially denied flying on private jets, but later admitted that he had indulged in "an arrogance" by claiming to have paid for his own tickets. Last month, Laura Vicol, who was left off the PSD's list of candidates for the December 2024 parliamentary elections as a result of the scandal, admitted that she had flown on private jets with Social Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu.   She also said that her resignation from the PSD was not voluntary. "I don't understand why this execution was carried out, and I am upset that the men in my party did not support me as they should have," she said.   Asked whether he had a friendly relationship with Vladimir Ciorba and Laura Vicol, PSD President Ciolacu replied: "I haven't communicated with them for over two years. He also claimed that Vicol did not become head of the Chamber of Deputies' Legal Committee with his support. Sorin Grindeanu, the PSD's first vice-president and transport minister, also flew with Ciolacu and Laura Vicol. On Tuesday, Grindeanu said that the private jet flights were not paid for by Nordis and that he would present invoices as proof.   Asked by journalists if he had discussed the Nordis contracts with Vicol and her husband, the Transport Minister replied: "No. I found out about these things at the same time as you did".