Anti-corruption prosecutors decided to close the Fleet case file in which the former President Traian Basescu was accused of abuse of office, forgery and embezzlement, "because the offences do not exist," DNA reports.
Antena 3 reporter for justice, Ana Maria Roman, explained:
"It appears that on January 21,2015, yesterday, the annulment of the case file of Traian Basescu was ordered the one with the allegations of abuse of office with serious consequences, forgery and embezzlement. The reason that this file was closed for Basescu is that investigators have concluded that the offence did not exist. Therefore, the criminal case related to the Romanian fleet was closed by DNA today. This decision can be challenged in court by some people, however, considering that the last audit report showed zero damages, it's hard to believe that someone attacking this decision would prevail. "
According to Mediafax, the offense of abuse of office Traian Basescu was charged with, does not exist, because through the performance of his decision making position within the Ministry of Transport in the period 1990-1992 and 1996-2000, Basescu did not incurred not caused any damages to the CNM Petromin SA Constanta patrimony.
Prosecutors explain this by the fact that the ships making the scope of the case file were sold under regulatory approvals given by the State Property Fund (SPF) - the majority shareholder of CNM Petromin SA in the privatization process initiated by the Government.
"The 16 ships under management contracts with the Klaveness group remained in the property of the CNM Petromin SA (with the right to dispose of them) until 1999-2000, when they were sold at auction. The sums collected from the sale of the 16 ships were in the amount of USD 63,134,735. The decision to sell the ships did not belong to the Ministry of Transport, but belonged to the FPS, CNM Petromin and AGA SA, as FPS and Transport Ministry were not the majority shareholder of the CNM Petromin SA " DNA shows.
Moreover, the release said, CNM Petromin as a joint stock company in naval transport, on 31 December 1992 had debts of 14.77 million dollars." Related to the offence of forgery mentioned in the charges brought as being the offence committed "in the period 1991-2000, when he issued decision papers at the ministry’s management level while performing his work duties, both by certifying to acts and deeds that were proved untrue, related to the establishment and powers of the CIS, CNM Petromin, the orders granting and withdrawing the right to fly the Romanian flag by the ships engaged in the "Petroklav" business, of the note based on which he ordered the erase from the Register of the "Băceşti" bomber and of the payment documents of "P&I" for 500.000 USD from the credit taken by mortgaging the "Băceşti" ship for which the insurance must have been paid by the Borom England, and by knowingly omitting to insert some real date and circumstances referring to the real ownership over the CNM Petromin SA ships on the occasion of the orders to withdraw the Romanian flag flown on these ships had been committed ”, according to investigators.
Related to the offence of embezzlement , “in September 1992, in his capacity of Minister of Transport and director (president ) of BOD Petroklav Inc, after the company ceased its activity he accepted the transfer of the amount of 500.000 USD in the account opened with Citibak London, from where he had taken the money, presenting afterwards an account statement where the transfer of the amount to the insurance company of the ship Băceşti features as unreal it turned out that the former head of state did not take the 500.000 dollars, as the charging shows, but the amount was paid to the Insurances Club P&I UK London and it represented the amount owed for the insurance of the ships Petromin operated”.
"In fact, referring to the alleged offence of embezzlement, the criminal liability was prescribed on 30 September 1999 following the entry into force on 1 February 2014 of the new Criminal Code, according to which, the maximum punishment for crime of embezzlement was reduced to seven years, " DNA reports.
Former president Traian Băsescu was involved in 68 criminal case, six of them are pending a decision, the Prosecution of the High Court of Cassation and Justice shows. (PICCJ).
The Department of Criminal Investigation and Criminalistics, during March 2004 - April 2014, there were a total of 58 criminal cases registered , of which 53 have been solved. Two cases were related to another solution in 2007 by the decision not to prosecute ruled based on art. 10 letter f of the Code of criminal Procedure, " PICCJ says.
According to the quoted source, other two case files were declined to the Bucharest Cpurt of Appeal prosecution office, respectively to the Military prosecution attached to the Bucharest Military Tribunal .
"The case file recorded by the Military Prosecution attached to the Bucharest Military Tribunal is pending and the case registered at the Prosecution office attached to the Court of Appeal was declined in favor of the District 3 Court Prosecutor's Office, on 5 November 2008 the solution to not to prosecute was ordered under the provisions of art. 10 d of the old Code of criminal Procedure, "according to the Supreme Court Prosecutor official response.
Currently, according to the source mentioned, the prosecutors are still investigating another criminal case.
Regarding the National Anticorruption Directorate, between 2002 - 2012, there were four criminal cases in which the name of Traian Băsescu appears, all of which were settled.
"One case file was declined in favor of the Prosecution Office attached to the 5th District Court and it was later sent to the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, file in which the prosecutors ordered, on 23 April 2010 under the provisions of Art. 10 d of the old Code of criminal Procedure, the release from criminal prosecution, "according to PICCJ.
In other three criminal cases, prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate ordered the release from criminal prosecution and the dismissal of the case file.
The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism recorded during 2012, six criminal cases in which the name Traian Basescu appears, of which five are pending and one was dismissed by order of 9 January, reads the response sent by PICCJ.