UPDATE 18.34 - MP Sebastian Ghiţă is being prosecuted in a new case file.
Prosecutors are charging Sebastian Ghita of bribery, instigation to office abuse, money laundering. Next to him, the former mayor of Ploiesti, Badescu is investigated for the crime of bribery and abuse of office.
According to DNA, the former mayor had taken bribe a house from Sebastian Ghiţă in exchange for funding Sebastian Ghita’s basketball team.
Prosecutors argue that the former mayor would have granted illegal financing from the local budget, amounting to 1,500,000,to the basketball team sponsored by the MP. In exchange for funding, mayor Badescu would have received from Sebastian Ghita a house worth over a million euros for which the former mayor paid only 124,000 lei.
In order to alleviate suspicions about the fraudulent acquisition manner, the property was the subject of an alleged promises of sale, between two companies controlled by the two.
The former mayor of Ploieşti, Iulian Bădescu, was sent for trial being under police arrest in another case for alleged corruption crimes
Sebastian Ghiţă is under judicial control in the case file belonging to the brother in law of Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Iulian Herţanu, for aiding and abetting an organized crime group.
Initial news 11.38
MP Sebastian Ghiţă, investigated under judicial control for corruption offenses arrived Tuesday at the headquarters of DNA Ploieşti, where he is to be presented with the new charges brought against him in a new case file Mediafax reports.
Sebastian Ghiţă arrived at 11.30, at DNA Ploieşti. At the entrance he was asked whether he had ever given a bribe and he denied and refused answering anymore questions about the funding of hid basketball team from the local budget of Ploieşti City.
He said he received a request to appear before prosecutors and he did , "as always" , to talk to them.
"I do not know the reason of my presence here. I'm surprised that you would know it," said Ghiţă.
Shortly after Ghita entered the DNA, the former mayor of Ploiesti, Iulian Badescu exited and climbed into a police van. On leaving the premises of DNA Ploiesti, where he was questioned for two hours and a half, Badescu said that everything was legal and that "these are aberrations as never before seen in this country."