Investigations in
the “bank fraud case” that exploded in the Romanian media earlier this week, and
which led to a statement that as much as 80% of the Romanian commercial banking
system was involved in the fraud ring, seem to be turning outside of the
banking system, as on the evening of 3 November the Bucharest Court quashed the
arrest of the highest-ranking banker (and perhaps the sole banker) being
investigated in the case. Alexandru
Claudiu Cercel-Duca, 44, Vice President of Băncii Române de Dezvoltare (BRD, part of Groupe Société-Generale), one
of 33 suspects detained this week, was released by the court but ordered not to
leave the city.
The case has been
prominent in the media for several days, with the coverage featuring abundant
photos of balaclava-clad police hauling off suspects for arrest or questioning. The preparatory investigations behind the
case were carried out over two years or more by the Directorate for
Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (Direcţiei de Investigare a
Infracţiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată şi Terorism – DIICOT), a special entity established in 2004
within the Public Ministry and headed by a Chief Prosecutor (Procuror șef). DIICOT alleges that an organized ring of persons
– both underworld figures and present or former government officials or clerks –
submitted false documentation via 16 banks in order to obtain a total of 40
loans, resulting in a fraud totaling € 22 mln.
On 2 November, Mugur
Isărescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania (Banca Naţională a României –
BNR), denied the allegation that the criminal ring could possibly have
encompassed 80% of the Romanian banking system, and stated that 0.08% was a
more likely figure. He added that the
information released to date concerning the case indicates that the bank
surveillance carried out by the BNR, and the fraud-prevention systems in place
at the individual banks, have been doing their job.
Sources:
· Isărescu
despre DOSARUL FRAUDELOR BANCARE: Nu e vorba de o caracatiţă a bancherilor, mai
degrabă grup infracţional din afara sistemului (2012-11-02 15:38 )
Related:
· DOSARUL
BANCHERILOR: Judecătorul a ascultat pledoariile acuzării şi apărării. Instanţa
anunţă la ora 20.00 soluţia privind propunerile de arestare (2012-11-03 09:11 )
·
CV of Alexandru Claudiu
Cercel-Duca at website of BRD
Mark Pleas
[contact]
