Elena Udrea remains in prison after the Supreme Court rejected the extraordinary way in which she challenged the decision to sentence her to six years in prison in the Hala Bute case. This is not the first such step by Udrea in an attempt to escape from prison.

Elena Udrea has now used another extraordinary method of attack – a request for viewing.

However, the Supreme Court rejected as inadmissible this petition to review the verdict in the case of Hala Bute.

The decision was made on Tuesday by the High Court of Cassation and Justice and is not final.

So far, Elena Udrea has used numerous appeals and also requested the termination of the criminal proceedings in the case regarding the financing of the election campaign of Traian Basescu in the 2009 presidential elections on the grounds that the facts have lost the statute of limitations, referring to the CCR decision. In March 2021, the Bucharest Court of Appeal sentenced Elena Udrea to 8 years in prison in a case accusing her of inciting bribery and money laundering related to the financing of the 2009 election campaign.

• Olena Udrya and Ioana Basescu did not get rid of the 2009 election campaign financing case. The case was returned to the court

Former minister Olena Udrea is currently in the women’s penitentiary colony Tirgshorul Nou, where she is serving 6 years of imprisonment in the case of Hala Bute. The final judgment was handed down in June 2018 and affirmed in April 2022, rejecting an appeal to set aside.

What verdicts did the court render in the case of Hala Bute

In June 2018, the former minister of tourism was sentenced to 6 years in prison in the case of Hala Bute. At the time of the final decision, Udrea was in Costa Rica.

She left Romania at the beginning of 2018 and requested asylum in Costa Rica. In October 2018, she was detained by Interpol in Costa Rica and subsequently imprisoned. She was dismissed in December 2018 after the Constitutional Court found the 5-judge panel of the Supreme Court illegal.

Elena Udrea returned to Romania on July 8, 2019, almost a year and a half after her escape to Costa Rica. She then announced her return to the country on Facebook, saying she had voluntarily given up her refugee status in Costa Rica because she wanted to raise her daughter at home.

The final verdicts in the case of Hala Bute, handed down by the Supreme Court in June 2018 and upheld by the decision of April 2022:

• Olena Udreya – six years of imprisonment for bribery and abuse of official position
• Tudor Breazu, administrator of lands from Nana that belonged to Elena Udrea – three years in prison with execution
• Stefan Lungu, former adviser to Elena Udrea – one year and six months suspended
• Former General Secretary of the Ministry of Regions Gheorghe Nastasi – four years in prison with a suspended sentence under supervision
• Ex-director of the National Investment Company Ana Maria Topoliceanu – three years in prison with a suspended sentence
• Dragos Marius Botoroaga, company administrator – two years and six months with suspension
• Former Minister of Economy Ion Ariton was acquitted on charges of unlawful participation in the abuse of official position and use of influence for the purpose of obtaining an unlawful benefit.

Also, the five-judge panel left unchanged the decision of the court of first instance in the civil part.

Thus, Elena Udrea must pay almost 3 million euros, respectively 8,116,800 lei as civil compensation to the National Tourism Authority and pay 600,000 euros to the witness Korin Boyan and 300,000 euros to the witness Adrian Gardean. In addition, the court decided to confiscate the sums of 695,367 lei and 296,076 lei from Udrea in favor of the state.

The court also ordered Rudel Obreja to pay jointly and severally with the civilly liable party, SC Euro Box Promotion SRL (formerly SC Europlus Computers SRL), the amount of 737,507 lei as civil compensation to the Ministry of Finance through ANAF. At the same time, the amount of 3,000,000 lei is confiscated.

The verdicts of the first instance were handed down in March 2017, Udrea received 6 years of imprisonment.