Ascultă Radio România Actualitaţi Live

Media Headlines

The daily Evenimentul Zilei speculated on what happened behind the scenes of the release of buisnessman Sorin Ovidiu Vantu.

Media Headlines
Sorin Ovidiu Vantu. Foto: Mediafax.

22 Septembrie 2010, 12:21

At first, prosecutors managed to convince the court that, based on their actions, the three displayed criminal perseverance, and therefore have to be taken into custody. The Court of Appeal, however, reversed the decision.

The daily Evenimentul Zilei speculated on what happened behind the scenes of this release, insinuating that the decision was influenced by a female judge whose husband, himself a magistrate, had previously been detained in a high level corruption case.


The daily Adevarul headlines: “You can sleep without worry, Sorin Ovidiu Vantu is free!”, paraphrasing a famous advertising slogan from 10 years ago: “You can sleep without worry, the National Investment Fund is working for you!”, ran the original.

The National Investment Fund collapsed in 2000 when it was exposed as a huge fraud, having ripped off 300,000 Romanians and losing them hundreds of millions of dollars. Sorin Ovidiu Vantu was said to have been behind the scheme, but nothing could be proven, as he did not sign a single document related to that business.

The people found guilty of the National Investment Fund disaster were Ana Maria Vlas, who is still in jail, and Nicolae Popa, currently a fugitive reported as being in Indonesia, whom Vantu allegedly gave money to, in order to bribe his way out of extradition.

Maria Vlas told the Adevarul daily that Popa would have been the one who handled the dirty business of the FNI, and that for that reason Vantu was indebted to him. Popa was arrested in December, and is in the middle of extradition proceedings.


This affair is just as complicated as the biography of Sorin Ovidiu Vantu himself. A powerful businessman, Vantu maintained and pursued ties with former officers of the political police of the communist regime, the Securitate.

By sponsoring politicians and parties, on the one hand, and people in culture and the arts on the other, Vantu managed to protect his businesses and make them more and more profitable, and to build up a positive public image.

His difficult relationship with president Traian Basescu, which turned from sympathy to enmity, as Vantu’s press empire turned increasingly critical of the president, explains, according to analysts and commentators, his sudden arrest.

The editorial in the daily Gandul summarizes in no uncertain terms what everyone seems to believe: “Releasing Vantu after his arrest is the final act in a match of arm wrestling between two titans of the dark underworld of Romanian politics, Basescu and Vantu, both born out of the old world”.

(Radio România Internaţional, Serviciul în limba engleză).

National Institute of Administration opens new courses for public administration employees
News in English 26 Martie 2024, 01:17

National Institute of Administration opens new courses for public administration employees

The National Institute of Administration is coming this year with a new course for public administration employees. They deal...

National Institute of Administration opens new courses for public administration employees
The names of the joint candidates with which PSD and PNL will participate in the local elections on June 9 "will be decided on Monday"
News in English 24 Martie 2024, 21:33

The names of the joint candidates with which PSD and PNL will participate in the local elections on June 9 "will be decided on Monday"

The names of the joint candidates with which PSD and PNL will participate in the local elections on June 9 will be decided on...

The names of the joint candidates with which PSD and PNL will participate in the local elections on June 9 "will be decided on Monday"
"By the end of the year" Cluj will supply water to Salaj
News in English 24 Martie 2024, 21:32

"By the end of the year" Cluj will supply water to Salaj

Romania's longest water main is nearing completion. It will carry water from Cluj to Salaj. The pipeline is a...

"By the end of the year" Cluj will supply water to Salaj
Full integration into the Schengen area by the end of the year, "a feasible goal"
News in English 23 Martie 2024, 19:19

Full integration into the Schengen area by the end of the year, "a feasible goal"

Integration into the Schengen area with road borders also, is a feasible goal by the end of the year, says Interior Minister...

Full integration into the Schengen area by the end of the year, "a feasible goal"
Bucharest, "technology hub for big companies"
News in English 22 Martie 2024, 12:51

Bucharest, "technology hub for big companies"

Italy's Prysmian, a global leader in cable production, has the largest cable production plant in Europe, located in...

Bucharest, "technology hub for big companies"
PSD and PNL validated their candidates for the European parliamentary elections
News in English 22 Martie 2024, 12:50

PSD and PNL validated their candidates for the European parliamentary elections

PSD and PNL validated their candidates for the European parliamentary elections yesterday, but the independent Ramona...

PSD and PNL validated their candidates for the European parliamentary elections
Klaus Iohannis and Mark Rutte try to keep quiet about their negotiations for the NATO leadership bid
News in English 22 Martie 2024, 01:14

Klaus Iohannis and Mark Rutte try to keep quiet about their negotiations for the NATO leadership bid

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte are trying to keep a low profile in the negotiations...

Klaus Iohannis and Mark Rutte try to keep quiet about their negotiations for the NATO leadership bid
European leaders should adopt the negotiating framework for Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the EU
News in English 22 Martie 2024, 01:13

European leaders should adopt the negotiating framework for Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the EU

President Klaus Iohannis said he does not expect any substantive problems with the adoption of the negotiating framework with...

European leaders should adopt the negotiating framework for Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the EU