Mogul S.O. Vantu receives two year sentence, may challenge verdict

The Bucharest District 1 Court judges sentenced Romanian controversial businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vantu to two years in prison over charges related to the use of false documents on Thursday, but the verdict may be challenged at a higher court. The verdict was given in a case related to the rise and fall of the Bank for Investments and Development-BID.

Judges re-opened the case after several months in which it was passed to one court to another as SO Vantu’s attorneys invoked a series of procedural irregularities.

The case returned to the District 1 Court after the High Court of Jusdtice rejected S.O. Vantu’s way of defense. In the case related to the establishment of BID, the businessman – who returned to limelight with a series of media deals last year – was first found guilty in 2005.