Romania PM Victor Ponta quizzed over alleged corruption

[muriel_volestrangler]

Romanian prosecutors have started questioning Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who is suspected of forgery, tax evasion and money laundering.

The case, concerning Mr Ponta's work as a lawyer in 2007-2008, is being handled by the anti-corruption agency DNA.

He allegedly used forged invoices from a law firm to buy two luxury apartments and a Mitsubishi Lancer car, Romanian media report.

The DNA has arrested several well-known politicians in recent months.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33020675

[bemildred]

2. UPDATE 2-Prosecutors launch criminal investigation against Romanian PM

(Reuters) - Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors said on Friday they had launched a criminal investigation against Prime Minister Victor Ponta, naming him as a suspect in crimes including forgery, money-laundering, conflict of interest and tax evasion.

Prosecutors have made a series of high-profile arrests in recent months in what remains one of the poorest and most graft-addled countries in the European Union. The anti-corruption agency is known locally as the DNA.

A former prosecutor who took office in 2012, Ponta faces general election late next year and his government is currently pushing a series of disputed tax cuts through parliament. He has survived several scandals but was bruised after a surprise defeat at the presidential election in November.

The shock announcement of the investigation came shortly before the opposition filed a no-confidence vote against Ponta's left-leaning government. Although having lost allies in the wake of his presidential defeat in November, Ponta still commands an overall majority in parliament.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/06/05/romania-primeminister-corruption-idINL5N0YR1BS20150605

[bemildred]

3. Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta Rejects Calls to Resign Over Corruption Allegations

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Friday resisted calls to resign over corruption allegations against him, accusing the country’s prosecutors of overstepping their bounds.

His comments came after the anticorruption unit opened a criminal investigation and asked lawmakers to strip Mr. Ponta of immunity, a necessary step before he could be prosecuted.

President Klaus Iohannis, a political rival, demanded Mr. Ponta’s immediate resignation, arguing that a political crisis would be “the worst thing that could happen now.”

A spokesman for Mr. Ponta denied he had done anything wrong, saying that prosecutors were trying to dredge up old political smears. “Every accusation brought today by the prosecutors…has been previously put forward by political enemies,” Corneliu Calota said.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/romanian-prime-minister-victor-ponta-rejects-calls-to-resign-over-corruption-allegations-1433526498