A son-in-law of Romanian President Traian Basescu is facing fraud charges, prosecutors said Tuesday, days after his brother was arrested for accepting bribes from a mobster. The twin cases are a major embarrassment for Basescu, who has made fighting corruption a centrepiece of his leadership and is facing opposition calls to stand down.
The latest scandal involves his lawyer son-in-law Radu Pricop, who media reports said is suspected of using forged documents to obtain multi-million-euro damages for property seized under Romania's former Communist regime. "We confirm that a criminal prosecution for forgery and fraud was launched on May 26 against Mr Radu Pricop and 11 other people," the state prosecutor's press service told AFP.
Pricop and his partner are said to have illegally obtained some 10 million euros ($13.6 million) in state damages.Pricop told Romanian media that a "mistake" had crept into one of the documents, but that it had not influenced the outcome of the damages case. Basescu is already fighting off calls to resign after his younger brother Mircea was taken into custody Friday accused of taking a 250,000-euro ($340,000) bribe to intercede on behalf of a crime boss on trial for attempted murder.
Social-Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta has urged his centre-right rival to stand down, and lawmakers could be asked to vote Wednesday on a motion asking him to leave. Basescu apologised on Monday over his brother's arrest, but denied any knowledge of the bribes and insisted he would serve out his full term. Asked about the suspicions facing his son-in-law, Basescu told reporters that "all Romanians must be held accountable before the law."
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