Romania Throws Ex PM Nastase in Jail for Corruption

Adrian Nastase was Romania's Prime Minister in 2000-2004. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Former Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase is to be Romania's first leader to serve time in prison since the 1989 fall of communism.

Romania's highest court upheld Wednesday his two-year prison sentence on corruption charges, international media reported.

Nastase had appealed a March 30 court ruling that sentenced him to prison for illegally raising funds for a failed presidential campaign. Wednesday's high court decision is final.

Nastase was the Prime Minister of Romania from 2000 to 2004. He has insisted that the case is politically motivated.

Prosecutors said that companies and state agencies were forced to pay fees to attend a conference in 2004, and the money was then used to pay for Nastase's unsuccessful run for the presidency in 2004. He lost the runoff to President Traian Basescu.

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