Convicted in a 20 million euro bribery case. For what they had received six and seven years in prison Ionuț Costea and Sebastian Vlădescu, now released by the Supreme Court

The former director of Eximbank Ionuț Mircea Costea, the brother-in-law of Mircea Geoană, and the former Minister of Finance Sebastian Vlădescu were released following the decision of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, two years after the same court decided that the two participated in a corruption scheme through which illegal payments of 20 million euros were made, over a period of 12 years. Now, the ÎCCJ admitted the cassation appeal requests submitted by them, an extraordinary appeal procedure.

The trial in which Mircea Geoană's brother-in-law, Ionuț Costea, and Sebastian Vlădescu were convicted began in November 2019, when the DNA sent the court the indictment in which it was written that the representatives of a consortium of foreign companies gave “commissions” to dignitaries or high officials of the Romanian state for contracts for the rehabilitation of some railway sections.

Wages received in the period 2005-2017

The prosecutors claim that the criminal activity took place in two stages. Thus, the first stage – in 2005, in the context of the tender organized for the rehabilitation of a railway line, the representatives of the foreign company agreed with Sebastian Vlădescu, Ionuţ Costea and a person close to the management of CNCFR (Mihaela Mititelu – no), to pay them in installments, throughout the duration of the contract, a commission of 3.5% of the sums collected from the Romanian state.

In exchange for these amounts, the Romanian officials promised to take steps to ensure additional financing in order to conclude the contract, as well as the timely payment of the issued invoices.

In order to be able to remit the sums of money, a fictitious circuit was created, based on which the sums of money reached the defendants.

“A first link was represented by the conclusion of a consulting contract with a law firm, based on which the company paid, in the period 2006 – 2011, the total amount of 39,363,071 lei, although no services were provided. The next link was represented by the conclusion of several fictitious contracts between the law firm or offshore companies affiliated to it with companies controlled by the defendants, through which the sums of money reached them”, DNA said.

What sums of money have reached Sebastian Vlădescu and Ionuț Costea

The anti-corruption prosecutors argued that “in this way, Vlădescu Sebastian-Teodor Gheorghe received one million euros, Costea Mircea Ionuţ received 3,121,328.41 lei and 2,320,698 euros, and the person close to the management of CNCFR, administrator of some commercial companies, received 3,083,498 lei and 1,050,087 euros”.

“The second stage – during the year 2009, against the background of the change of government and the economic crisis that led to the delay in the payment of invoices, the representatives of the foreign company reached a new agreement regarding the payment of a commission of 10% of the sums collected from the Romanian state to Vlădescu Sebastian (who was again serving as finance minister), Constantin Dascălu and Cristian Boureanu”, DNA said.

In order to be able to remit the sums of money, a new fictitious circuit was created, based on which the foreign company transferred 11,781,842 euros to the accounts of two offshore companies controlled by a Romanian citizen residing abroad. Subsequently, the sums were transferred through successive operations to other offshore companies, stratified on five levels to make it difficult to trace the money's trail.

In the last stage, the money was transferred to the accounts of companies indicated by the defendants or was withdrawn in cash and handed over to them.

According to DNA, in this way, Sebastian Vlădescu received 2,242,000 euros, Constantin Dascălu received 1,114,000 euros, and Cristian Boureanu received 2,111,799 euros.

According to the DNA, the difference between the amounts transferred by the foreign company and those received by the defendants is the supposed expenses for the operationalization of the financial circuits (establishment and operation of offshore companies, bank commissions, taxes), as well as the benefits received by other participants in the commission of the facts regarding which the case was ordered to be dismissed.

The first decision in court, three years after the start of the trial

In March 2022, following the sentence of the first court, the former Minister of Finance Sebastian Vlădescu was sentenced to 8 and a half years in prison with execution, while the former PNL parliamentarian Cristian Boureanu received a sentence of 4 years and 3 months. Mircea Costea received 7 years of imprisonment, Mihaela Mititelu – 4 years of imprisonment with execution, and Constantin Dascălu – 5 years and 6 months of imprisonment with execution.

Reduced sentences in the Supreme Court

The final sentence was pronounced by the ÎCCJ on May 26, 2023. The court reduced Vlădescu's sentence to 7 years and 4 months in prison, and Costea's to 6 years.

In the case of former parliamentarian Cristian Boureanu, the judges annulled the sentence of 4 years and 3 months in prison for influence peddling as a result of the statute of limitations.

For the same reason, Constantin Dascălu, former secretary of state in the Ministry of Transport, and Mihaela Mititelu, close to the management of the CFR National Company, escaped from prison.

On the civil side, the magistrates decided on the special confiscation of the amounts:

• 3,990,248 lei, 2,177,000 euros and 65,000 euros from Sebastian Vlădescu;
• 3,121,328 lei and 1,919,900 euros from Mircea Ionuţ Costea;
• 3,083,498 lei and 1,050,087 euros from Mihaela Mititelu;
• 1,114,000 euros from Constantin Dascălu;
• 2,111,799 euros from Cristian Boureanu;
• 214,874 euros, transferred to the account opened in the name of SC Topanel Production Panels SA at ANABI.

Vlădescu surrendered, Ionuț Costea fled the country

On the day of the sentencing, Sebastian Vlădescu presented himself to the police for the execution of the sentence, but Ionuț Costea could no longer be found, so he was put under general investigation.

In January 2025, he was located in Turkey, and the Romanian authorities requested his extradition. The Turkish police detained him in February, and the extradition procedures were completed in June, so Ionuț Mircea Costea was brought to the country on June 24.

Thus, Costea received 7 years in the first instance, the sentence was reduced to 6 years on appeal, and of this sentence he served a little less than six months in prison.

In the case of Vlădescu, it went from a sentence of 8 years and 6 months to one of 7 years and 4 months, of which he served 2 years and a little more than 5 months. The other three defendants escaped not by acquittal, but by statute of limitations.

The decision of the ÎCCJ that led to their release

Today, November 4, 2025, the High Court of Cassation and Justice, led since September by Lia Savonea, decided to admit the cassation appeals filed by the two and release them.

Something that happened a few hours later, when Sebastian Vlădescu and Ionuț Costea got out of prison.

Sebastian Vlădescu and Mihai Costea filed an appeal in cassation, an extraordinary way of appeal, considering that the court that sentenced them, i.e. ÎCCJ, was wrong when it ended the criminal trial, on grounds of prescription, only in the case of the other three defendants in the file.

In its decision now, the ÎCCJ pointed to a decision of the CCR, which concerns an exception of unconstitutionality raised by the former mayor of Toplița, Stelu Platon, in 2022. Sentenced to a suspended sentence for fraud with European funds, Platon claimed an article in the Code of Criminal Procedure that limited the right of convicts to appeal in cassation.

Four judges from the ÎCCJ decided to admit the cassation appeal. It is about 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.

The damage must still be recovered, emphasizes the ÎCCJ

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

Thus, in the press release, it is written that Sebastian Vlădescu “remains to pay” the amounts of 3.9 million lei, as well as 65,000 euros. At the same time, according to the ICCJ, “the special confiscation of the sum of 2,177,000 euros from the same defendant” was ordered.

In the case of Ionuț Costea, he still has to pay “the sums of 3.1 million lei and 1.9 million euros”,

At the same time, the insurance measures instituted until the concurrence of the confiscated amounts were maintained, states the Supreme Court, which says that the ordered civil measures total 7.1 million lei and 4.1 million euros.