Radu Timofte, ex-Romanian Secret Services (S.R.I.) manager, was sent to court by the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA). He's accused of paying 35,000 euros for an apartment in the central of Bucharest estimated for 200,000 euros.

Radu Timofte bought the apartment in Mihai Eminescu Street for 35,000 euros while the value for such an apartment, in 2005, was estimated for 200.000 euros, according to DNA prosecutors. The apartment is presently under prosecutor’s arrest.

Ex-S.R.I. Logistics chief Virgil Turcu was also sent to court accused of abusing his role in the detriment of the population. He allegedly obtained a patrimonial favour for somebody else. Other three S.R.I. staff - Gheorghe Robu (S.R.I. officer), Ion Tudor (ex-S.R.I. officer) and Ionete Dumitru (ex-S.R.I. advisor) - are also under trial for abusing their functions to the detriment of the public interests. They were part of the commission responsible for seeing the legal standards through on buying a dwelling.

The prosecutors say that, during September 2004 and March 2005, Radu Timofte "made the accused Turcu Virgil, chief of S.R.I. Logistics Department, to rent and, later, to sell in a subsidised regime (far below the market price) a role-related dwelling in Bucharest, in Eminescu Street (residential area), disregarding the law", a DNA report informs.

In January 28, 2008, Radu Timofte wrote and submitted to S.R.I. two declarations for which he assumed responsibility. One of them was written in the name of his wife. The declarations feature false information regarding his property status, the sources say.

Members of the verifying commission did not check if Radu Timofte was fulfilling all the legalities for buying such an apartment.

If the accusations prove real, the prejudice bought to S.R.I. will be 210,203.35 lei - the difference between the value of the dwelling (338,423.48 lei) and its selling price (128,220.13 RON). To retrieve this prejudice, the prosecutors arrested the dwelling. The case file has been submitted to the Court in Bucharest’s Sector 1.