VIDEO Sebastian Vlădescu and Ionuț Costea were set free, a few hours after the ICCJ decision / What they said when they left the penitentiary

Former Minister of Finance Sebastian Vlădescu and Mircea Ionuț Costea, Mircea Geoană's brother-in-law and former Eximbank president, were released on Tuesday evening, a few hours after the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) admitted the cassation appeals filed by the two.

Vlădescu and Costea were released from prison after the decision of a panel of judges led by the head of the Supreme Court, Lia Savonea, who found that the acts for which the two were convicted had expired.

Upon leaving the Jilava penitentiary, Vlădescu refused to make statements. Asked by reporters if he will return the damage, he limited himself to saying a few words: “Check with ANAF.”

“You know how it was on Radio Yerevan? That Ivan stole a car? Actually it wasn't stolen and it wasn't a car, it was a bicycle. That's about it now. I'm accused of complicity, not taking money, right?” affirmed, instead, Ionuț Costea, upon leaving the penitentiary. Asked by a reporter if he has a place to return the money from the damage, Costea did not answer.

Sebastian Vlădescu had a final sentence of 7 years and 4 months in prison for bribery, and Mircea Ionuț Costea was serving a 6-year sentence for complicity in bribery, in a case related to a 20 million euro bribe received from the Austrian company Swietelsky for the rehabilitation of the Bucharest-Constanța railway.

In the release decision, the ICCJ, led by judge Lia Savonea, invoked a decision of the CCR. On Tuesday, the ÎCCJ admitted the cassation appeal requests submitted by them, an extraordinary appeal procedure.

“Today's decisions by which Sebastian Vlădescu and Mircea Ionuț Costea were set at liberty following the establishment of the statute of limitations of criminal liability are a consequence of the application of Decision no. 50/2025 of the Constitutional Court, which reaffirms the principle according to which criminal procedural law must respect the right to defense, equal opportunities and effective access to justice”, it is stated in a press release of the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

“Courts are bound to apply the law and the Constitution, even when the effects may be perceived as unpopular,” the High Court stated.

The four judges who decided to accept the cassation appeal are: Lia Savonea, Eleni-Cristina Marcu, Adrian Gluga and Gheorghe-Valentin Chitidean. Elena Barbu was the judge who opposed the admission of the extraordinary appeal, but her minority opinion no longer mattered in the final decision.

Supreme court: The two still have to pay the money

“It is important to emphasize that the decision of the CCR affects only the criminal aspect of the cases in question, the civil obligations and confiscation measures ordered remain valid, so that the public interest in the reparation of damages is ensured”, the ÎCCJ press release states.

“Thus, in the mentioned cases, it was decided as follows: 1. In file no. 1946/1/2023* – the defendants Sebastian Vlădescu and Mircea Ionuț Costea remain to pay: a) the sums of 3,990,248.60 lei and 65,000 Euros, the damage charged to Sebastian Vlădescu, and the special confiscation of the sum of 2,177,000 euros from the same defendant; b) the sums of 3,121,328.41 lei and 1,919,900 euros, the damage charged to Mircea Ionuț Costea; At the same time, the insurance measures instituted until the concurrence of the confiscated amounts were maintained, resulting in a total of 7,111,577.01 RON and 4,161,9000 Euros.”

Tuesday's decision by the ICCJ is final.