Deputy chief of Vâlcea Police detained by DNA / Allegedly received €5,000 to influence a criminal case

Raoul Alexandru Păunescu, deputy chief of the Vâlcea Municipal Police, was detained by DNA prosecutors on charges of influence peddling. According to investigators, he allegedly received €5,000 from a man under criminal investigation in exchange for promising to intervene with the police officers handling the case.

According to the allegations, the intervention was intended to ensure that the investigation was conducted in such a way that the case would end with a decision not to send it to trial. Prosecutors are examining how the money was allegedly received and whether the suspect took concrete steps to influence the handling of the case.

The detention of the deputy chief of the Vâlcea Municipal Police represents the initial stage of the measures ordered as part of the investigation. Prosecutors will next decide whether to ask the court to impose an additional preventive measure. The person under investigation benefits from the presumption of innocence until a final judgment is issued.