IMPARȚIALITATE·INTEGRITATE·EFICIENȚĂ
March, 10th, 2016
No. 282/VIII/3
Press Release
In addition to the press release no. 230/VIII/3 of March 3rd, 2016 regarding the illegal retroceding of an area of 47 hectares of forest located in Snagov locality and the illegal retroceding of Băneasa Farm, the Information and Public Relation Office is authorized to communicate the following:
On December 17th, 2015, the prosecutors within the National Anticorruption Directorate – Brașov Territorial Service ordered the start of the criminal investigation against the defendants:
1. TAL SILBERSTEIN, businessman, for committing the offences of setting up an organized criminal group, traffic of influence and complicity to money laundering;
2. SHIMON SHEVEZ and BENJAMIN „BENY” STEINMETZ, businessmen, for committing the offences of setting up an organized criminal group, complicity to traffic of influence and complicity to money laundering;
3. MOSHE AGAVI, businessman, for committing the offence of adherence to a criminal organized group
According to the ordinance drawn up by the prosecutors, in the case, there are data and evidence showing the following state of facts:
Starting with November 2006, the defendant Truică Remus together with the defendants Tal Silberstein, Shimon Shevez, Benjamin “Benny” Steinmetz, Moshe Agavi (who subsequently adhered) and other people, set up a criminal group with the purpose of obtaining the entire property illegally reclaimed by Al României Paul Philippe, by offering money/goods to the people within the authorities/institutions holding these properties, incitement and complicity to commit, by the latter, the offence of abuse of office, by making available and signing the necessary documents and by trafficking the real influence over the public officers.
In order to implement the criminal plan, the defendant Al României Paul Philippe promised the defendant Remus Truică and his associates from the criminal group an important share quota, between 50% and 80%, of the value of the goods which were claimed in Romania and, subsequently, gave them the goods, to the extent to which the goods were obtained, in exchange for the interceding with the public officials with office duties regarding the reconstitution / retroceding of the property deed from Bucharest and other counties from the country or over the judges, with the aim to unjustly obtain the claimed goods and taking possession of the goods.
Starting with November 2006, the defendant Truică Remus together with the defendants Tal Silberstein, Shimon Sheva, Benjamin "Benny" Steinmetz, Moshe Agavi (who joined it later) and other people, formed a criminal group that aimed to acquire the whole property unlawfully claimed by the accused Al României Paul Philippe, by providing money/ goods to the persons within the authorities/institutions owning these properties, by inciting them and the complicity to the perpetration, by these people, of the offence of abuse of office, by providing and signing the necessary written documents and by trafficking their real influence upon the public officials.
In order to put their criminal plan into practice, the defendant Al României Paul Philippe promised to the defendant Remus Truică and his associates within the criminal group an important share, between 50% and 80% of the value of the goods he had claimed in Romania and, subsequently, gave them the goods, as he was obtaining them, in exchange for the interceding with the group members with the public officials with responsibilities related to the restoration/ restitution of ownership rights in Bucharest and in other counties in Romania, or with the judges, with the aim to unlawfully succeed to obtain the claimed goods and to put them in their possession.
Since the date when the criminal group was formed, the members of the group were permanently involved in criminal activities and have informed each other directly or indirectly, about the development and achievement of the objective they pursued by their deeds, by agreeing upon the strategy to follow and finding together with the group the most affordable solutions.
Since the start of the criminal action and up to the present moment, the anticorruption prosecutors made many efforts to ensure the presence of the 4 defendants in the judicial proceedings, but their objective is to delay the investigation of the case and ultimately evading prosecution.
Considering the above mentioned details, on March the 10th 2016, the prosecutors submitted to the Brasov Court of Appeal the official report with the proposal of pretrial arrest in absentia against the defendants Tal Silberstein, Shimon Sheva, Benjamin "Benny" Steinmetz and Moshe Agavi, for a period of 30 days from the date of execution of arrest warrants.
The judging of the pretrail arrest proposal in absentia will take place in Brasov Court of Appeal on March the 14th, 2016.
It should be mentioned that the start of the criminal action represents a stage of a criminal trial regulated by the Criminal Procedure Code, aiming to create the judicial framework for administration of evidence, a situation which cannot, under any circumstances, infringe the principle of presumption of innocence.
THE INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE