Romania: New corruption allegations against ruling party chief

Event

On Monday, November 13, anti-corruption prosecutors announced they were investigating new allegations of corruption against ruling party chief Liviu Dragnea. According to the prosecutors, Dragnea has been accused of creating a group to forge illicit documents in order to obtain EU funds.

Although no planned protests have been announced, demonstrations in response to these new allegations are possible. Since early 2017, multiple large protests have taken place in Romania following a series of corruption scandals involving high-level officials and the government’s seeming attempts to undermine efforts to root out corruption.

Context

This is the latest allegation made against Liviu Dragnea, who is also accused of embezzling EU funds between 2001 and 2012 and was charged with electoral fraud in 2016. He continues to maintain a hold on power within the party, and is believed to be a heavy influence behind many of sitting prime minister Mihai Tudose’s decisions.

His party’s attempts to decriminalize certain corruption charges caused widespread public outrage in February 2017 sparking the largest protests in the country since the fall of communism in 1989. More recently, on November 5, tens of thousands of Romanians took to the streets to denounce a bill that would allow the justice minister to appoint and dismiss state prosecutors, as well as weaken the power of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office.

Advice

Individuals present in Romania are advised to avoid demonstrations as a precaution and to keep abreast of the situation.