UPDATE: Businessman Horia Simu was arrested by anti-corruption prosecutors in a case concerning the illegal restitution of a building in Bucharest, which caused damages amounting to 55 million.
Simu was brought on Thursday night at the headquarters of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) for questioning, after the prosecution conducted searches during the day at his home.
After less than an hour, he was detained by prosecutors.
Simu appears Friday before a judge of rights and liberties with the arrest proposal.
DNA prosecutors searched Thursday for more than 12 hours the businessman's house, where they found about 150 paintings, some signed by Corneliu Baba, Corneliu Pătraşcu and Samuel Mützner, as well as luxury watches and jewelry.
DNA prosecutors conducted Thursday searches at the home address of businessman Horia Simu Şchiopu, in a case concerning the illegal restitution of a building in Bucharest, which incurred 55 million euros in damages.
UPDATE 11.14 –Approximately 150 paintings, some signed by Corneliu Baba, Corneliu Pătraşcu and Samuel Mützner and luxury watches and jewelry, were found by prosecutors at Horia Simu’s residence.
According to Antena3 reporter, Horia Simu will be brought in for questioning.
In 2008, Horia Simu Şchiopu grabbed a compensation payment of over 103 million euros from ANRP.
According to Mediafax, Horia Simu is suspected that from 2006 to 15 January 2008, he has supported and facilitated the breach of law by the President and members of the Central Compensations Commission, by submitting a dossier for compensation payments for a property and previously by having a note issued by the mayor of Bucharest dated July 9, 2007 and by the issuance of a notice of legality by the Bucharest Prefect of 7 September 2007, plus several documents, including a medical certificate and extra-judicial expertise dated 2006 drawn up by expert Zizi Dumitrescu, that was falsely presented the situation and had mistaken the land identity to accredit the idea of impossibility of restitution in kind and the urgency in solving the case.
Thus, with the agreement given to the over evaluated property conducted by assessor Florin Alexandru Hanu and approval by the Central Compensation Commission of the assessment report drawn up under unlawful condition, a loss was incurred to the state budget amounting to 55,144,265 euros, or more than 200,600. 000 lei, which Horia Simu received unduly.
Quoted sources said that in May 18, 2005, Mihaela Cojocaru asked the City Hall for the issue of a restitution order, in the amount of ROL 244.928.107.524 in the form of nominal securities used in the privatization process, of the building consisting of 97,516 sqm of land and a building with ground floor and two floors, garage and shed, located in Bucharest, identified in the plan annexed to the expert report drawn up by Zizi Dumitrescu.
The request for the issuance of a restitution order, in the equivalent cash for the building was based on the civil judgment of 4 June 2004, ruled by the Sector 5 Court in Bucharest, which was final and enforceable, enclosed into the restitution brief.
In terms of the highest compensation payments awarded by the National Agency for Property Restitution, Horia Simu would be among the first places, the sources quoted argued..