Paul-Philippe of Romania released from custody, under judicial control, pending transfer decision

The Ministry of Justice announced on Monday that Paul-Philippe of Romania will be released from custody, pending the final decision on his transfer under judicial control."The court in Malta has ordered that Paul-Philippe of Romania be placed under judicial control and released on bail after more than 2 months in custody. Until a final decision is made on his transfer, he will go twice a day to the police station to sign his presence. He will not be able to leave Malta because his passport and any identity documents are withheld by the court. He must pay a 20,000-euro bail and a 30,000-euro personal guarantee. The decision was justified by his advanced age and by the fact that, according to Maltese law, in such cases, the maximum term of pre-trial detention is 60 days," the Ministry of Justice said in a release sent on Monday.According to the quoted source, on June 25, the court of first instance in Malta decided to transfer Paul-Philippe of Romania, but the decision is not final."Romania's justice system will continue to do its best to bring the fugitives from the Romanian state, no matter how sonorous their names may be," the Justice Ministry emphasised."Recently, the Court of Justice of the European Union admitted the request to debate under urgent procedure the preliminary questions referred to it by the Brasov Court of Appeal in the Prince Paul case. The opinion of the European Commission was in agreement with that of the Romanian state. The EC said that a member state cannot refuse to execute a European arrest warrant only because of alleged irregularities in the swearing in of the oath by the convicting judges. In addition, the European Commission has argued that a European Arrest Warrant cannot be refused just because another member state has previously refused the execution of the same EAW," the Justice Ministry explained.In 2020, the High Court of Cassation and Justice sentenced Paul of Romania to three years and four months in prison and businessman Remus Truica to seven years in prison in the case of the illegal property return of the Royal Farm of Baneasa.