Paul Philippe of Romania, who is the target of a European arrest warrant, was incarcerated on Monday in Paris, and the authorities will determine whether he will be handed over to the Romanian authorities, the Romanian Justice Ministry informed.

„On Monday, the Romanian citizen Paul Philippe of Romania was taken from his home before a magistrate of the Paris Court of Appeal, where a preliminary hearing was held. After hearing the arguments of the parties, the court ordered the aforementioned Romanian citizen to be placed in custody, with a view to him being surrendered to the Romanian authorities,” the Justice Ministry said.

The cited source mentions that the first hearing before the court’s Extradition Chamber was set for Wednesday, and the decision on whether he will be surrendered is for the French judiciary to take.

In 2020, the Romanian High Court of Cassation and Justice definitively sentenced Paul of Romania to three years and four months in prison in the case of the illegal restitution of the Royal Farm in Baneasa.

He fled Romania before the sentence was pronounced, settling in France. In June 2022, he was caught in Paris, but a Court of Appeal refused to extradite him on the grounds that there was a „real risk” that his fundamental rights would be violated in Romania.

At the end of April 2024, Paul of Romania traveled to Malta where he was detained by the authorities of the Mediterranean island following information transmitted by the Romanian police.

In July 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the French judiciary did not proceed „correctly” in the case regarding the European arrest warrant for Paul-Philippe of Romania, and although the Romanian authorities hoped that the Maltese courts would take this decision into account, he was released.

AGERPRES