Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s future is in jeopardy after anti-corruption prosecutors formally charged him and froze his assets.
Ponta, premier since 2012, was charged with forgery, money laundering and complicity in tax fraud, according to a statement Monday on the Anti-Corruption Directorate’s website. The case, announced in June, covers his time as a lawyer before he took office and also involves ex-Transport Minister Dan Sova. Both deny wrongdoing. Ponta didn’t comment after meeting prosecutors.
“There will be mounting pressure on Ponta to resign in the coming days,” said Otilia Dhand, a Brussels-based analyst for Teneo Intelligence. “While he may still survive this particular crisis, the odds that he’ll serve a full term as prime minister are diminishing fast.”
Ponta, 42, is the first sitting head of government to face criminal charges in Romania and was urged again Monday by President Klaus Iohannis to step down. Adrian Nastase, ex-prime minister of Romania, a European Union and NATO member, was handed a two-year jail sentence in 2012 for illegally raising funds for a presidential campaign.
The leu was 0.3 percent stronger at 4.4297 against the euro at 2:56 p.m. in Bucharest, recouping losses that followed the prosecutors’ statement, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Yields on government Eurobonds due 2024 fell five basis points to 2.75 percent as Greece’s bailout calmed fears over Romanian banks’ exposure to Athens-based lenders.
‘Reasonable Suspicion’
Ponta is accused of forging documents to justify income while he had a private legal practice, with the help of a law firm owned by Sova. Prosecutors said Monday that “there are data and evidence showing there’s a reasonable suspicion” the allegations are valid. They’ll speak to him again in August.
Ponta, who’s weathered plagiarism accusations and come back from a presidential-election defeat in the past, quit Sunday as leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party.
He returned last week from Turkey after knee surgery, having survived a confidence vote last month in parliament, where he also retained his immunity to repel a separate conflict-of-interest probe.
Ponta, premier since 2012, was charged with forgery, money laundering and complicity in tax fraud, according to a statement Monday on the Anti-Corruption Directorate’s website. The case, announced in June, covers his time as a lawyer before he took office and also involves ex-Transport Minister Dan Sova. Both deny wrongdoing. Ponta didn’t comment after meeting prosecutors.
“There will be mounting pressure on Ponta to resign in the coming days,” said Otilia Dhand, a Brussels-based analyst for Teneo Intelligence. “While he may still survive this particular crisis, the odds that he’ll serve a full term as prime minister are diminishing fast.”
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| Victor Ponta |
Ponta, 42, is the first sitting head of government to face criminal charges in Romania and was urged again Monday by President Klaus Iohannis to step down. Adrian Nastase, ex-prime minister of Romania, a European Union and NATO member, was handed a two-year jail sentence in 2012 for illegally raising funds for a presidential campaign.
The leu was 0.3 percent stronger at 4.4297 against the euro at 2:56 p.m. in Bucharest, recouping losses that followed the prosecutors’ statement, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Yields on government Eurobonds due 2024 fell five basis points to 2.75 percent as Greece’s bailout calmed fears over Romanian banks’ exposure to Athens-based lenders.
‘Reasonable Suspicion’
Ponta is accused of forging documents to justify income while he had a private legal practice, with the help of a law firm owned by Sova. Prosecutors said Monday that “there are data and evidence showing there’s a reasonable suspicion” the allegations are valid. They’ll speak to him again in August.
Ponta, who’s weathered plagiarism accusations and come back from a presidential-election defeat in the past, quit Sunday as leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party.
He returned last week from Turkey after knee surgery, having survived a confidence vote last month in parliament, where he also retained his immunity to repel a separate conflict-of-interest probe.
