News International review

Romanian ex-minister fleeing sentence caught in Bulgaria

Bulgarian authorities have detained the Romanian former Romanian Minister of Tourism Elena Udrea, who tried to leave for Greece. Earlier, a Romanian court sentenced the official to six years in prison for corruption.

According to Euronews, the official was detained on the border between Bulgaria and Greece.

In June 2018, the court found Elena Udrya guilty of bribery, abuse of office and tax evasion. But her six-year jail sentence was suspended pending appeal based on a ruling by the Constitutional Court.

The final verdict against the former official was handed down last week.

The corruption case against Udrya is reportedly related to the holding of a boxing tournament in 2011. Udrea was sentenced for having illegally approved the financing of the tournament by the Tourism Ministry.

In addition to the prison term, Udrea is ordered to pay almost 3 million euros in damages for the ministry’s expenses for the boxing tournament.

Udrea was Minister for Tourism from 2008 to 2009 and for Regional Development and Tourism from 2009 to 2012.