Darius Valkov, former mayor of Slatina, former minister of finance, former PSD senator and advisor to Prime Minister Viorika Denčile, was not found by the police at the addresses where they wanted him to be taken to the penitentiary after he was finally sentenced, on Tuesday, after 6 years of imprisonment in the “file”. He will be in Italy, thus completing the list of famous Romanian fugitives who have found refuge in this country to avoid prison.

In the case in which he was finally sentenced to eight years in prison on Tuesday, Darius Valkov was sentenced to eight years in prison by firing squad at the first instance in February 2018.

In 2015, DNA sent him to court on charges of receiving bribes in the amount of 20% of the value of contracts for the reconstruction and expansion of water supply and sewerage networks in several cities of Olt, receiving bribes in the period 2011-2013. During the searches, prosecutors found a real treasure – more than 1.3 million lei, 90 thousand euros, three gold bars weighing three kilograms and three paintings with inscriptions by Renoir, Jean Cocteau and Aurel Acassandri, respectively. In total, 172 paintings purchased by Valkov through intermediaries were discovered during the searches, some of which were hidden in the false walls of the buildings belonging to the former minister.

On Tuesday evening, the capital police reported that the police officers of the Criminal Investigation Service received a warrant for the execution of a prison sentence in the name of Daria Valkov.

• “The Bucharest court sentenced this person to 6 years of imprisonment for committing crimes related to money laundering and influence peddling, a sentence that remained final by the decision of the High Court of Cassation and Justice.
• Currently, measures are being taken to identify the person,” the Metropolitan Police reported.

According to some judicial sources, Daria Valkov was not found at the addresses where he was wanted. In addition, he would be in Italy, where he would declare a new place of residence and also open a company.

Europa Liberă wrote about the way in which in recent years more and more politicians and businessmen convicted by Romanian courts manage to avoid prison.

The escape of the final convicts from Romania to Italy by 2021 was a guarantee that they would avoid prison under the enabling law. After the rule change, Romanian convicts are planning to escape by obtaining a residence permit and opening a business in Italy, writes Europa Liberă. This is also the case of Darius Valkov.

The press reported that Valkov had a company in Italy called Darvet SRL. After the information became public, Valkov transferred control of the company to his close friend Andrea Elena Dumitru, an adviser to former Fisc chairman Mihaela Triculescu.

Why Italy is a haven for Romanian refugees

Darius Valkov is the latest in a long list of fugitives who found refuge in Italy or Greece.

Famous convicts in Italy:

Former PSD baron Yonel Arsen from Nemets was sentenced in March to six years and eight months in prison by firing squad in a corruption case. In April, a court in Bar rejected the Romanian authorities’ request for extradition in the case of Arsen.

The list of those in Italy includes former SRI officer Daniel Dragomir, businessman Dragos Savulescu, Mario Iorgulescu, Alina Bika, Cornel Bohdan Popa, former director of the capital city hall, and businessman Romeo Albu, the last two convicted in the Sorin Oprescu corruption case.

If one of the recipes for Greece is a request for political asylum, the recipe for Italy is different – they pay taxes, open companies, hire expensive lawyers and manage to avoid extradition, referring, in particular, to inadequate conditions in Romanian prisons.

Ionel Arsen he would also set up a company in Italy before he was finally convicted in Romania, using the same method by which more and more politicians and businessmen convicted by Romanian courts have managed to avoid prison in recent years, he wrote in Free Europe .

Currently, judges in Italy can refuse extradition or the execution of a European arrest warrant only if the convicts have lived on the peninsula for at least five years. In the new conditions, well-known defendants from Romania, who have been on trial for years, prepare their “escape” and settle in Italy, where they become exemplary businessmen.

Alina Bika– The Bucharest Court issued a European Arrest Warrant against him to serve a 4-year prison sentence, to which he was finally convicted for a crime for the benefit of a criminal. After his stay in Italy, the European Arrest Warrant was sent to the competent authority in Italy, which refused to execute it, ordering the recognition and enforcement of the sentence on Italian territory. Currently, the procedure for individualization of the execution of punishment is ongoing in Italy. “The five-judge panel of the Supreme Court had to implement the controversial decision of the Constitutional Court regarding the statute of limitations (December 5, 2022),” the Ministry of Justice reported.

In November 2019, the former head of DIICOT was finally sentenced to 4 years in prison with execution in the case in which she is accused of assisting businessman Ovidiu Tender.

She was wanted internationally and was detained in July 2020 in Italy, where she had been since 2019. Alina Bica fled Romania in early 2018, before she was sentenced. For some time she stayed in Costa Rica with Elena Udrea. Bika was jailed in that country for a short period, but was released in December 2018 after an appeal against the formation of a 5-judge panel.

Bika was also on trial in the ANRP illegal retrocession case together with businessman Dorin Kokos, Krinutsa Dumitrean, former member of the ANRP Central Compensation Commission, Sergio Diacomatou, former member of the same commission, and businessman Gheorghe Stelian. . In June 2018, the ex-head of DIICOT was acquitted in this case. Earlier this week, the High Court of Cassation decided to halt the process so that Kokos, Dumitrean, Diakomatou and Stelian could avoid the prison terms they were sentenced to, based on the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the statute of limitations. In the case of Alina Bitsa, the Supreme Court left the acquittal of the first instance unchanged.

Dragos Savulescu – in February 2019, the Bucharest Court of Appeal issued a European arrest warrant for the execution of a sentence of 5 years and 6 months of imprisonment. Since he is located on the territory of Italy, the European arrest warrant was sent to the competent law enforcement body of that state. The Italian authorities refused extradition, ordering the sentence to be carried out in Italy and proceeding to adapt it to Italian law. At the moment, the individualization of the punishment that will be carried out in Italy is ongoing.

Former Dynamo shareholder Dragos Savulescu was convicted in the Mamai beach return case, in which former Constanta mayor Radu Mazare, former Constanta County Council president Nicushor Constantinescu, and former Dynamo shareholder Christian Borca were also convicted.

Danylo Dragomir – The Bucharest court issued a European arrest warrant for the execution of a sentence of 3 years and 10 months of imprisonment. The Italian authorities refused to carry out the order, referring to the conditions of detention. Former DRI colonel Daniel Dragomir was brought under international prosecution in June 2020 after he was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months of imprisonment by firing squad, he managed to leave the country only a day before the court decision, as he did not have a restraining order.

Mario Yorgulescu – he is being prosecuted internationally to serve a 3-year prison sentence, to which he was sentenced by the Bucharest District Court 3, the European Arrest Warrant was issued by the Bucharest Court. The Italian authorities refused the extradition because, after forensic examinations ordered in the case, they concluded that his mental state irreversibly prevented him from knowingly participating in the trial.

In August 2020, the Prosecutor’s Office of the Bucharest Court sent Mario Iorgulescu to court for murder and driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

On the night of September 7-8, 2019, the son of the president of the Professional Football League, Gino Iorgulescu, hit a 24-year-old man to death with his car. Bucharest court prosecutors say that Mario Iorgulescu was drunk and under the influence of cocaine. After the accident, Yorgulescu Jr.’s family moved to Italy, where he never returned.

In an interview with Fanatik in November, 3 years after killing a young man in a car crash and fleeing the country, Mario Iorgulescu said he did not want to return to Romania and hoped to receive a suspended sentence that would allow him to stay in Italy.

“I never tried to talk to the victim’s family. But I would like to convey something to them, to apologize. I want to first express my condolences. I’m really honest. But I want to tell them that people still make mistakes. I want to tell them that I wish I could turn back time, I wouldn’t make that mistake again. I can’t turn back time, but I can make them a promise. I will take care of those children, they will not lack anything, never, I will personally take care of it, myself and my family. I’ll do my best not to miss anything, I really know it’s hard for them without their father, I wish it didn’t happen.”

What prosecutors say about the accident caused by Mario Iorgulescu:

• “On August 8, 2019, in a state of anger and an attack of jealousy, having a blood alcohol level of 1.96 g/l and being under the influence of cocaine, he intended to move from the village of Guliya, Tartashest commune, in the direction of club in Herăstrău Park”, Yorgulescu Gino-Mario was driving an Aston Martin DBS at a speed well above the speed limit of 60 km/h.
• He ran a red light at a speed of 145 km/h at the Șos intersection. Chitiley and St. Teodora Neagoe, after which he accelerated to 162 km/h “at the moment when he passed another vehicle that was moving at low speed on the 1st lane, sitting on the left side on the curb, pressing the gas pedal to the maximum.” pedals of a vehicle equipped with a 700 horsepower engine, driving into the opposite direction and causing a head-on collision at 03:02:39 at a speed of 143 km/h with an Audi car driven by the victim. V.D.A., who died on the spot.
• From the moment he entered the intersection at the red light, the defendant did not press the brakes, and at the time of the collision, the gas pedal was pressed to the maximum.”