Two businessmen from southern Olt County, Constantin Tomescu and Bogdan Timofte, convicted in the „Paintings” criminal case along with the former social-democratic minister of Finance, Darius Valcov, popped up on Tuesday evening at the headquarters of the Olt County Police Inspectorate and were transported to the Craiova Penitentiary in order to serve their sentences, informed the representatives of the Olt County Police Inspectorate, write Agerpres.
Darius Valcov, former mayor of the municipality of Slatina and PSD minister of Finance, was definitively sentenced on Tuesday by a panel of five judges with the Supreme Court to 6 years in prison for influence peddling and money laundering, in the „Paintings” criminal file, so dubbed after the prosecutors found over 100 works of art purchased by Valcov through intermediaries, some of them being hidden in the false walls of buildings belonging to the former minister.
In the same criminal file, Minel Prina, also a former mayor of the municipality of Slatina, was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison with execution, and Lucian Petrut Susala, former driver of Darius Valcov, has got 2 years with suspension, with a 5-year supervision term.
Also, Petre Bogdan Timofte was sentenced to 3 years with execution, and Constantin Tomescu received 3 years and 6 months with execution.
The media reported that Darius Valcov would have left for some time in Italy, where several people convicted in Romania fled to escape prison. He did not appear at the last court term. The former mayor of Slatina, Minel Prina, would have also left the country.
The judges upheld the decision to confiscate the sum of 6.2 million RON from Valcov.
In this criminal case, Darius Valcov was sent to court in May 2015 for influence peddling, money laundering and carrying out financial operations, as commercial deeds, incompatible with the public job, assignment that a person performs or concluding financial transactions, using the information obtained by virtue of his position, attribution or task, in the continued form.
