Anti-graft prosecutors search controversial aunt’s house

Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors searched Tuesday morning a villa in downtown Bucharest that belonged to Tamara Cernasov, the deceased aunt of Dana Nastase, wife to ex-PM Adrian Nastase. The hause, close to the French Embassy in the Romanian capital, was listed as a target for possible searches by prosecutors in their high profile graft case against the Nastases.

The building now belongs to businessman Paul Opris, former owner of thew Tele 7 Abc TV station. He is said to have bought the building in 2001 from Tamara Cernasov for a price below its market value.

Adrian Nastase, the current speaker of the House, sparked a huge scandal earlier this year when he listed part of his fortune as inherited from Tamara Cernasov, a woman who he said lived in hardship only to save impressive amounts of money in real estate and other assets.