Desintco Affair Enters New Phase

Traian Basescu had better provide the explanations that he promised to us all in the press release issued eleven days ago: "The President of Romania will explain, at the right time, what is behind the political and media manipulation aimed at discrediting the State."

As eleven days have already passed, we cannot know what the President meant by "at the right time" - tomorrow, next week or two years from now.

Nevertheless, these eleven days proved sufficient for what journalist Sorin Rosca Stanescu keeps publishing on his blog to make the transition from "surrealistic" to "veridical."

Hereinafter is an excerpt from the text published by Sorin Rosca Stanescu on the Internet on Friday, in which I marked the statement that a decision was made to have Desintco, a company in which the President"s brother was a shareholder, provide consultancy and brokerage in two major military contracts.

"After he resigned upon specific instructions from Economy Minister Adriean Videanu following the scandal related to Mircea Basescu"s company, retired General Aurel Cazacu, the best-known dealer in the business of trading and trafficking in arms, drafted the contract with EADS for the Airbus parts factory. • Concurrently, the big shots of Brasov County started struggling for a piece of the real estate action and the hefty prices attached to it. The competitors? Constantin Nita, Minister for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Boc Cabinet and head of the PSD Organization in Brasov County; George Scripcaru, Mayor of Brasov and a member of PD-L; and Aristotel Cancescu, Chairman of the Brasov County Council and a Member of PNL. <<• For the huge prospective investment, including both the Airbus parts factory and the maintenance of Puma helicopters, a consultancy and brokerage firm was needed. • The decision was made that such company should be DESINTCO, in which Mircea Basescu had become a shareholder with 30%.>> Shareholders were also Romeo Oita, Cristian Geamanu, General Sandu and the daughter of General Aurel Cazacu. This is the reason why the company had not yet registered for the NACE code associated with manufacturing and selling arms: DESINTCO was going to become involved in the two huge contracts as a consultant, broker and logistical service provider. Importantly, the contracts were not signed with the Romanian State, but with a foreign company brought in by Basescu as an investor, following negotiations with Sarkozy. Is this a severe conflict of interests or not?"

I spoke with Sorin Rosca Stanescu on the phone and he explicitly confirmed, two times, that he had the proof that such decision existed.

On top of this we have the televised statements made on 23 August by Aurel Cazacu, the former Director of the Army Procurement Directorate of the Ministry of Economy, who had his daughter exit Desintco upon learning that the shareholders intended to become involved in military affairs, too, besides fair & exhibition organisation.

If Sorin Rosca Stanescu"s statements are true, the Desintco scandal has moved from the phase of timely defused conflict of interests to the phase of an ongoing conflict of interests which poses the question of corruption in the Presidency.

This is why, no matter what Traian Basescu had in mind when he said "the right time," it is high time he kept the promise he made eleven days ago and explained us what is going on.