Justice Ministry says not involved in bringing fugitive Savulescu to Romania

Romania's Justice Ministry said on Wednesday that it was not involved in enforcing a European arrest warrant issued Romania on Dragos Savulescu and was not asked to facilitate communication between courts.

According to a press statement released by the ministry, on Monday in Greece Emil Dragos Savulescu was provisionally arrested in enforcing the European arrest warrant issued Romania based on a final imprisonment sentence issued by the court, and the arrest was ordered because of the existence of this European arrest warrant, with enforcement being a procedure that takes place directly between the courts, namely the Romanian and the foreign court.

"Consequently, the court of the Hellenic Republic is competent, under Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA, to decide on the enforcement of this European arrest warrant and the surrender of the requested person. The procedure for the enforcement of the European arrest warrant is conducted as provided for by the Hellenic legislation."

The ministry explains that it has strictly administrative powers (deriving from the principle of separation of powers), meaning to receive and submit European arrest warrants issued by Romanian and foreign judicial authorities, to provide support to the authorities involved in this procedure, especially in order to facilitate communication, respectively to keep statistical records.

"The Ministry of Justice, as the central authority, is not involved in the procedure and has not been requested, so far, to facilitate communication by the courts," the statement says.

Savulescu was being wanted under a European arrest warrant, after Romania's Supreme Court definitively overruled on March 12 an appeal against serving brought by the former financier of the Dinamo club, who was requesting the annulment of his sentence of 5 years and a half in prison for illegal land restitutions in Constanta and Mamaia.

Savulescu fled Romania before being convicted, settling in Italy, where the Naples Court of Appeal commuted his sentence to a suspended one.

However, the decision of the court in Naples applies only in Italy. The businessman was still listed on the Romanian Police website under the heading "wanted persons," as the Bucharest Court of Appeal had issued a European arrest warrant on his name.

Savulescu's case prompted several high-profile convicts to flee to Italy to obtain the annulment or suspended execution of sentences received in Romania, including former chief prosecutor of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Terror (DIICOT) Alina Bica, former Romanian Intelligence Service officer Daniel Dragomir and former MEP Marian Zlotea.

On February 8, Savulescu, a former financier of the Dinamo club, was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison in a case regarding illegal restitution of land and beaches, in which former mayor Radu Mazare was handed 9 years in prison.

Another former financier of the Dinamo club, Cristian Borcea, received 5 years, but he was released on parole only after 9 months of detention.

Savulescu fled Romania before the court finally convicted him and settled in Italy, where the Naples Court of Appeal rejected Romania's request for extradition. Moreover, Italian judges turned his five and a half years in prison in a suspended two years and five months sentence.

The Naples Court of Appeal argued that Savulescu was doing business in Italy, was speaking Italian and did not have to serve his sentence in Romania.