Business man and media mogul Sorin Ovidiu Vantu was indicted on Thursday by anti-graft prosecutors for favoring Romanian fugitive Nicolae Popa sentenced to 15 years of prison, Romanian news agency Agerpres informs.
In the same file, businessman Octavian Turcan and Vantu's driver Alexandru Stoian were also indicted. The three, according to prosecutors favored fugitive Nicolae Popa during October 2009 - January 2010.
The help was both in material and moral terms:
- 50,000 euro for October - November 2009 for fugitive Nicolae Popa by Sorin Ovidiu Vantu and Turcan Octavian
- 20,000 euro and plane tickets in December 2009 to Popa's brother and his parents who were supposed to visit their son in Indonesia
- moral help which was materialized by sending in December 2009 - January 2010 in Indonesia of a person who would help Popa be released from the arrest of Indonesian authorities or make efforts to stall extradition procedures to Romania by Sorin Ovidiu Vantu with the help of Stoian Alexandru, his driver
Prosecutors declared that Sorin Ovidiu Vantu has possibilities to influence who is named in leading positions of public institutions and can influence directly the public opinion through the news television he owns, Realitatea TV.
Vantu's behavior, in the eyes of prosecutors, revealed that he is disturbed by the obligation to compel to court orders. According to prosecutors, for Vantu, to respect a court order and admit the authority of the court is an option and he considers it normal to defy public authorities.
