Judges of the High Court of Cassation and Justice <Romania’s Supreme Court> yesterday sentenced former social-democrat premier Adrian Nastase to two years in prison over the “Quality Trophy” case file, a sentence not subject to suspension, and also ordered a ban on exercising some of his civil rights.

Adrian Nastase was charged with allegedly funding his presidential campaign in 2004 with funds collected via the Quality Trophy symposium organised by the State inspectorate in Construction, headed by Irina Jianu at the time, who had already been sentenced to six years in prison and had some of her civil rights revoked for five years. Bogdan Popoviciu, president Forum Invest, was handed a seven year prison sentence. Cristina Rotaru, one of the three judges who heard the case, said that Nastase must be acquitted of the charges on grounds the deed does not exist actually.

The sentence is challengeable on appeal in the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

Adrian Nastase ironically told Realitatea TV by phone that the sentence shows the judges did their political duty. More exactly, Nastase holds that Ioana Bogdan, one of the members of the judge panel who passed the sentence, is a former adviser to the chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate.

“Daniel Moraru is on electoral campaign. His term is drawing to an end,” the former PM said, adding that his acquittal of the charges would have been a disaster to the DNA. “This is an attempt at keeping me out of the political landscape. This was Basescu’s goal in 2005. I was an inconvenient opponent,” Nastase said, who announced that, unless he wins his appeal, he will take his case to the Human Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Asked what he makes of the prospect to go to jail if all his means of attack failed, Nastase said he had gone through a lot in his life and is not afraid of anything, although he was hopeful things would change for the better. In his turn, Social Democratic Party (PSD) President Victor Ponta was disappointed at the verdict.

“I’m familiar with the case and I know how much political pressure was put while being built. I am convinced that Mr. Nastase will file his appeal and he could therefore prove his innocence. Until the verdict becomes final, I won’t  say more,” Ponta told HotNews.

The Supreme Court completed the investigation into the case on January 9, and announced it would issue its verdict on January 23. The ruling was however adjourned to yesterday. The trial lasted 1063 days, during which time judges heard over 900 witnesses in 48 court sessions.

Nastase was put on trial in January 2009. According to the indictment, during the electoral year 2004, the State Inspectorate in Constructions, led by Irina Jianu at the time, “organised a symposium called the “Quality Trophy in Constructions”. Actually, the symposium was a setting allowing the charging of participation taxes which acted as a veiled means for money being collected for the presidential campaign of the defendant Adrian Nastase,” according to the DNA.

More exactly, prosecutors say that the participation taxes charged, over EUR 1.6 M in all, went to four companies controlled by two people close to the Nastases. From there, the money went to a company that performed various services during the presidential campaign of the social-democrat leader.

In a separate trial, on December 15, 2011, Nastase was acquitted of the charges levelled against him in connection to the “Aunt Tamara” case, wherein he was tried for corruption deeds, along with his adviser, Ristea Priboi, and Ioan Melinescu, a former head of the National Office for Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering.

The DNA challenged the ruling on appeal. Nastase has yet another trial pending in court, the “Zambaccian Case” dating back from 2006, in which he is charged, along with his wife, Dana, with taking a bribe from the same Irina Jianu, but also from Romania’s former general consul to Hong Kong, in order that they keep their jobs.