Ridzi Asks Legal Committee To Deny Criminal Pursuit In Her Case

• Former Youth and Sports Minister is suspected of abuse of public office and embezzlement

Former Youth and Sports Minister Monica Iacob Ridzi has asked the Legal Committee of the Chamber of Deputies to deny the request for permission to initiate criminal pursuit in her case. Currently suspected of abuse of public office against public interests and embezzlement, Monica Iacob Ridzi, claims that the report made by the parliamentary Inquiry Panel is null and void.

Daniel Buda, Chairman of the Legal Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower Chamber of the Romanian Parliament, yesterday confirmed that the Committee had received the former Minister"s request and would distribute it to the Members of the Committee for review in a subsequent meeting, Agerpres announced.

The former Minister believes that the report made by the parliamentary Inquiry Panel is null and void, due to redundancy between the scope of the parliamentary inquiry and the scope of an ongoing investigation by the National Anti-Graft Directorate (DNA).

Moreover, Monica Iacob Ridzi late last week filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor"s Office of the Supreme Court of Justice against the Members of the Inquiry Panel of the Chamber of Deputies.

The former Minister is accusing Members of Parliament Alina Gorghiu, Nicolae Banicioiu, Bogdan Olteanu, Petru Lakatos, Doina Burcau, Cristian Sorin Dumitrescu, Damian Florea, Gratiela Leocadia Gavrilescu and Anghel Stanciu of abuse of office against private interests and attempted coercion of false testimony.

Ridzi claims that the Members of the Inquiry Panel did not have the right to investigate her, as long as the DNA was already conducting a criminal investigation on the exact same subject matter.