Two Romanian interior ministry officials arrested for corruption

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Police arrested four people on Wednesday (March 25th), including two Interior Ministry officials and a wealthy businessman, for alleged participation in shadowy real estate deals in 2000, anti-corruption prosecutors announced. The two ministry officials are charged with trying to block an investigation into these deals, which involved businessman Gabriel Popoviciu and former rector of Bucharest's Agronomy University, Ioan Alecu. The land in question is 220 hectares in Baneasa, a wealthy suburb of Bucharest. The land is worth hundreds of millions of euros, but the buyers only paid 82,000 euros. One of the most ambitious projects in Romania's real estate market is built on the plot. The project, initiated by Popoviciu, is worth 1.5 billion euros. (Curierul National, BusinessStandart, Gandul - 26/03/09; AFP - 25/03/09)