JusMin, UK Ambassador discuss extradition of Adamescu, Popoviciu businessmen

The Minister of Justice, Stelian Ion, on Thursday met with the British Ambassador to Romania, Andrew Noble, among the topics discussed being the settlement of European arrest warrants issued on the name of businessmen Alexander Adamescu and Gabriel Popoviciu, which Romania is trying to extradite from UK.

According to a press release of the Ministry of Justice, during the meeting, the two officials discussed the relations between Romania and the United Kingdom in the field, voicing their appreciation on how bilateral cooperation works between the two countries, including in the judicial field.

Also, both sides expressed their belief that the recent EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the United Kingdom will provide a solid basis for continuing bilateral law enforcement dialogue.

The two officials also addressed the cases of Romanian businessmen Alexander Adamescu and Gabriel Popoviciu, for whom European arrest warrants have been issued and who are currently in the UK.

"With regard to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, the Minister of Justice thanked for the very good cooperation with the British authorities, especially in the context of the execution by the judicial authorities in the United Kingdom of arrest warrants issued by Romanian courts. This field is regulated by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and, as the rules have not changed substantially, we believe that there will be no syncopes in the future. We also discussed the cases concerning the settlement of European arrest warrants issued on the names Adamescu Bogdan, Popoviciu Gabriel Aurel. We appreciate any information provided by British colleagues on concrete elements regarding the surrender of persons in respect of whom the judicial proceedings before the British courts have been concluded," reads the same press release.

According to the Ministry, in the future, the actions of the two sides will focus on combating organized crime in all its forms and, in particular, human trafficking, the protection of minors and the fight against corruption.

Businessman Gabriel Puiu Popoviciu has received a final sentence of 7 years in prison in the "Baneasa" case, and he was located in the UK, where a court ordered his surrender on July 12, 2019. Popoviciu filed an appeal, which is in now pending, with hearings to start on March 15.

On the name of businessman Alexander Adamescu, the Bucharest Court of Appeal issued an arrest warrant on June 6, 2016, as he was investigated by anti-corruption prosecutors for committing two bribery offences. He was located and arrested in the UK in March 2018, and a British court ordered his surrender. Subsequently, Adamescu requested permission to formulate a question before the Supreme Court of UK and it cannot be handed over until this request is resolved.