The former MEP Elena Băsescu denied Thursday having asked Marian Vanghelie to collect signatures for her in exchange for money reminding that she did not run in the 2014 European Elections.
The reaction comes after the former president's daughter, according to the reasoning of the decision to arrest Vanghelie, allegedly the mayor would have asked businessman Marin Dumitru to collect 10,000 signatures the candidacy in the European elections of Elena Băsescu
"I have never asked anyone to collect signatures for money, much less to Marian Vanghelie or the others invoked in the documents cited in the press. In fact, I do not even know them", wrote Thursday on Facebook Elena Basescu.
She reminded that she did not run in the European elections in 2014, stressing that in these circumstances, invoking her name was "unjustified".
Marian Vanghelie allegedly asked businessman Marin Dumitru to collect 10.000 signatures for the candidacy in the European elections of Elena Băsescu, the reasoning of the arrest decision taken by the High Court of Cassation and Justice reads. (ICCJ).
"Dumitru Marin reported that in 2012, when the defendant’s son celebrated his coming of age, he gave him about 95,000 euros in cash and in the spring of 2014, the defendant asked to gather 10,000 signatures for the candidacy in the European elections of Elena Băsescu, the money needed for this activity being subtracted from the commission what was required, (...) the amount paid for the 9,000 signatures collected was 15 lei / signature, "the document reads.
On March 14, the High Court of Cassation and Justice decided the arrest of Mayor Marian Vanghelie, accused of abuse of office, bribery and money laundering.
Marian Vanghelie has been mayor of district 5 since 2000, he won the elections on behalf of the PSD. He was a member of PSD until November 2014, when he was expelled together with Mircea Geoană and Dan Şova, following the PSD National Executive Committee vote.
Subsequently, in March Vanghelie and Geoană announced the establishment of a new political party, the Romanian Social Party
.