The Minister of Justice, Alina Gorghiu, announced that the court in Malta decided, on Monday, the preventive arrest of fugitive Paul Phillipe from Romania, until May 9.
Gorghiu added that, from the information he has, his request to be released on bail was rejected, but the decision can be appealed.
“The court in Malta decided today on the preventive arrest of fugitive Paul from Romania, until May 9. From the information we have, his request to be released on bail was rejected, a decision that can be appealed. As you know, he was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in prison for committing the crimes of buying influence and complicity in abuse of office, in the Ferma Băneasa case”, wrote Alina Gorghiu on Facebook.
Also, “the Ministry of Justice will continue its efforts and make efforts for Prince Paul to serve his sentence in Romania, as it does with any fugitive from the Romanian state”, Gorghiu also stated.
How he was captured
The head of the Romanian Police, Benone-Marian Matei, gave details about how Prince Paul was captured.
He was located in a tourist complex in Malta, following the information sent by the Romanian police, he was together with his wife.
“There was an exchange of information with the Malta Police. Following the information provided by the Romanian police, the person you mentioned was located in a resort. Later, he was detained and will be referred to the court in Malta. The Romanian police located him and sent information in real time to the colleges in Malta”, said Benone-Marian Matei, in a press conference.
Asked if Romania’s Paul Phillipe resisted, the head of the Romanian Police answered: “No, according to the data we have, he did not resist.”
283 refugees brought to the country in 2024
The Secretary of State in the MAI Bogdan Despescu offered some additions in relation to this subject.
“I would like to clarify the fact that every time I have communicated with the partners in the states where I have located such persons. After the location, each agency, each institution enters its own procedure and, of course, follows the procedure based on the courts and they will order measures accordingly.
Immediately after a decision, the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will take over the person. 283 people since the beginning of the year were brought to Romania to serve their sentence established by the courts”, explained Bogdan Despescu.
He mentioned that the policemen achieved their goal, after they identified and caught the man they were chasing.
Extradition refused to France
On April 6, the representatives of the Ministry of Justice sent, regarding the European arrest warrant in the name of Paul-Philippe de Romania, that the court in France definitively rejected his surrender to the authorities in our country, citing the illegal composition of the court panel from Romania.
“More precisely, the fact that one of the judges would not have taken the oath at the inauguration”, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Although the case prosecutor from the French Public Prosecutor’s Office declared an appeal, he did not justify the appeal within the deadline and, therefore, he was denied the deadline, and the decision of the first instance remained final.
The Minister of Justice, Alina Gorghiu, recently stated about the extradition of Prince Paul from France that she still has no answer from her French counterpart regarding his situation, after the rejection of the extradition.
“I expect the minister to be able to ask the system what happened in that case,” said Gorghiu.
Why Prince Paul is under international scrutiny
On May 17, 2023, the Ministry of Justice presented a situation of persons wanted or prosecuted for the execution of sentences ordered by Romanian courts, as well as the countries where they are located and the stage of the procedures carried out to bring them to the country.
Thus, according to the situation presented by the representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Prince Paul is being prosecuted internationally on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by the Braşov Court of Appeal on 18.12.2020 for the execution of a sentence of 3 years and 4 months in prison for committing the crime of buying influence, complicity in abuse of office – damage: 9,523,769 euros.
After fleeing the country, Paul was located on the territory of France. After a short period in which he was held in pretrial detention in Paris, he was released on bail.
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