The Court of Appeal of Bucharest finally decided on Tuesday the preventive arrest for 30 days of the mayor of Corbeanc (Ilfov) Valeriu Anton, who is accused by DNA prosecutors of allegedly receiving bribes of almost two million euros from several people and also receiving 16 hectares of land and forest, which he sold for more than two million euros. On May 5, the Bucharest court rejected DNA’s request to arrest the mayor, and he was released.

The Court of Appeal in Bucharest on Tuesday upheld the DNA’s appeal and decided that Valeriu Anton and his nephew Robert Ilie Mihail should be kept in pre-trial detention.

• “Abrogates the disputed conclusion and, returning (…) accepts the proposal for preventive arrest, formulated by the prosecutor’s office at the High Court of Cassation and the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (…) regarding the defendants Anton Valeriu and Mykhailo Robert Ili.
• On the basis of Article 223, Clause 2 of the CPP, the defendants Anton Valeriu and Mihail Robert Ilie are ordered to be arrested for a period of 30 days, starting from the date of execution of the warrant,” the Bucharest Court of Appeal decided.

The court’s decision is final.

The mayor of the city of Corbeanka in Ilfov County, Anton Valeriu, was arrested by DNA on May 4 for receiving bribes and money laundering. Prosecutors accused him of accepting bribes from several people amounting to almost two million euros and also receiving 16 hectares of land and forest, which he sold for more than two million euros. He would ask for this money to settle requests for the retrocession of certain lands to the appropriate persons.

The accusations that DNA brings to the mayor of Corbeanka

• “During 2011-2017, Anton Valeriu, as the mayor of the Korbeanka commune and the head of the local Commission for the establishment of land ownership rights, having under consideration the request of one person regarding the restitution of a plot with an area of ​​45 hectares. land located in Corbeanka, will be claimed and received from this, through intermediaries (one of them is another detained suspect), the amount of 1,418,581 eurosthe money that would have been given to him after receiving monetary compensation as a result of the approval of the ANRP file
• In order to hide the true origin of the money received as a bribe, on the initiative of Anton Valeriu, several notarized documents were drawn up, with the help of which the true recipient of the sum of money would be hidden.
• In a similar context, from September 2011 to July 2019, Anton Valeriu demanded the right holders to return half of the claimed rights to various plots of land in order to take the necessary steps to approve their requests.
• After settlement of claims in a similar way Anton Valeriu would come into possession of seven hectares of forest (later sold for a total of 1,554,695 euros), nine hectares of arable land (sold in 2019 for 450,000 euros) and an amount of 475,318 euros.”

Great personal loans

In the most recent declaration of assets submitted in June 2022, the mayor of Corbeanque wrote that he has debts of almost 1.4 million euros to a bank and to three individuals. All loans were granted during 2008-2009.

Thus, he entered in the declaration of assets a bank loan in the amount of 287,000 euros (contract in 2008, maturity date – 2029), as well as loans from individuals: 555,000 euros from Neagu Valentin, 336,000 euros from Buchumeanu Florin Marian, 185,000 euros from Tetuc Dumitru. All loans were granted during 2008-2009.

In the “Income” section, the mayor mentioned only the salary in the city hall – 87,500 lei per year and the salary of his wife, a sales agent in Corbeanca.

According to the latest property declaration, Anton Valeriu has several urban plots of more than 6,000 square meters in Corbeanca and Bufta and a house of 284 square meters in Corbeanca. He is also associated with 50% in SC DVS Frigos SRL.

Anton Valeriu (PMP) has been the mayor of Corbeanka commune since 2008. He became a member of the PMP after the party’s merger with the UNPR. According to PMP leader Eugen Tomac, Anton Valeriu has not been active in the party in recent years, although he is running for a new term as mayor of the commune of Corbeanque in 2020 on behalf of the PMP.

PMP President Eugen Tomak told HotNews.ro that the mayor’s membership in the party was suspended in accordance with the statute.