Romanian Businessman Dan Adamescu Detained On Bribery Charges
Romanian businessman Dan Adamescu was detained Thursday under accusations of bribery, the anticorruption department announced.
Adamescu is accused of paying EUR20,000 to two judges in exchange for favorable verdicts allowing his businesses to open insolvency procedures.
Anticorruption prosecutors will appear before a judge with the Bucharest Court of Appeals requesting Adamescu’s arrest for 30 days.
Among other businesses, Adamescu owns insurance accompany Astra Asigurari, Unirea Shopping Center in Bucharest and First League football club Otelul Galati.
Simona Halep Reaches French Open Final
Simona Halep reached her first grand slam final after beating Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 7-6(4) in the semi-finals of the French Open on Thursday.
Fourth-seed Halep will face 2012 champion and last year’s runner-up Maria Sharapova on Saturday.
Halep has been the highest-ranked player left in the tournament for some time but she had reached just one grand slam quarter-final before.
Transelectrica Signs RON81.39M Contract To Build Power Line To Serbia
Romanian transmission system operator Transelectrica signed a contract worth RON81.39 million, net of VAT, for the construction of a new high voltage power line to connect Resita town (western Romania) to Serbia’s city of Pancevo.
Transelectrica had been planning to build the new power line to Serbia for at least four years.
The contract targets the construction of the Romanian segment of the 400 kV overhead power line, which will be 63 kilometers long and go from Resita to the Serbian border. The new line to Serbia will remove the major transmission congestion between the two energy systems and improve interconnection security in SE Europe.
Prostitution, Drugs And Contraband Are Worth 0.2% Of Romania’s GDP
Romania’s statistics institute INS estimates prostitution, illegal narcotics and contraband contribute around 0.2% to the local economy, a figure four times lower than in the United Kingdom, where sex work and drugs alone are thought to add £10 billion (EUR12.3 billion), or 0.8%, to the economy.
By comparison, illegal activities boosted Romania’s economy by approximately 1.2 billion lei (EUR270 million) in 2012, according to INS estimates.
Romania, alongside the other European Union countries, will be including prostitution, illegal drug sales and contraband cigarettes and alcohol in official GDP figures as of September 2014. The national account will also measure the expenditure with military and research and development.
US Secretary of Defense Visits USS Vella Gulf In Romania
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel toured the USS Vella Gulf in Constanta (southeastern Romania) on June 5, thanked the crew and stressed the importance of their mission.
Hagel is in Romania to reassure NATO allies America is ready to defend them. This includes a bigger US presence in the Black Sea, especially since Russia annexed Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula, from Ukraine.
Vella Gulf’s presence in Romania reaffirms the United States’ commitment to strengthening ties with NATO allies and partners, while working toward mutual goals of promoting peace and stability in the region, something Hagel touched on while on board the ship.