The Embassy noted the terms of Kovesi and Morar will expire next year, and urged the Romanian Government “to ensure that suitable successors are chosen so as to maintain the same high standard of integrity, independence, and accountability.”
“Cooperation with Romanian prosecutors has been another key element of our successful joint law enforcement efforts. The U.S. appreciates the dedication, courage and integrity of the leadership and staff of the Office of the Prosecutor General and the specialized directorates of that office – the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and the Directorate of Terrorism and Organized Crime Investigation,” the Embassy said in a press release on the visit to Romania of FBI director Robert Mueller.
It notes that, during his visit to Bucharest, Mueller met with President Traian Basescu, the prosecutor general, State Secretary for Public Order and Safety Ioan Dascalu from the Ministry of the Interior, Romanian Intelligence Service Director George Maior, General Inspector of Police Liviu Popa, Foreign Intelligence Service Director Mihai Ungureanu and SELEC Director Gurbuz Bahadir.
According to the U.S. Embassy, “the visit further strengthened already strong law enforcement cooperation between our countries.”
“Together we are working to defeat threats that pose a danger to the security of both Romania and the United States. One area on which we have focused our combined resources is the significant amount of computer and Internet crime impacting the United States. We work hand-in-hand with Romania to investigate networks of criminals who profit from ‘phishing’, credit card and ATM thefts, auction fraud, and other forms of cyber crime. The victims of these crimes are American and Romanian citizens alike. This activity affects all Romanian citizens by tarnishing Romania’s reputation. Cybercriminals will continue to be pursued to the fullest extent of Romanian and U.S. law. The visit helped promote joint efforts to combat this growing problem,” reads the press release.
On November 15, Basescu said on public television he wants to ask Kovesi to extend by six months the term of Morar, which expires in two months.