Codruț Șereș

Ioan-Codruţ Şereş (born 2 August 1969) is a Romanian engineer and politician. A member of the Conservative Party (PC), he was a member of the Romanian Senate for Maramureș County from 2004 to 2008. In the Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu cabinet, he was Minister of Economy and Commerce from 2004 to 2006.

Biography

He was born in Zalău, and from 1988 to 1993 attended the Technical Military Academy of Bucharest, becoming a mechanical engineer and graduating first in his class. In 1999 he earned a Master of Business Administration through a programme organised by the University of Ottawa, HEC Montréal and the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. From 1993 to 1999 he worked at the Defence Ministry, being assigned to the procurement department from 1996. From 1999 to 2004 he held management positions at three different firms, including as assistant director of Antena 1 (1999-2000) and as director of business development and strategy at Grivco (2001-2003), both owned by Dan Voiculescu, leader of the PC. ^[1] In 2010, Şereş became president of Antena 1 and of Intact Media Group. ^[2]

In 2001, Şereş joined the PUR (PC from 2005). In 2002, he became head of its department devoted to financing infrastructure projects for local PUR officeholders, and helped finance ten projects. In 2003 he became secretary general of the party, rising to vice president the following year, when he was also elected senator. ^[1] In the Senate, he sat on the following committees: budget, finance, banking and capital markets (2006-2008); equal opportunity (2006); and privatisation and administering state assets (2004-2006). He was also vice president of the body during one session. ^[3] Additionally, he served as Economy Minister from December 2004 to December 2006, ^[4] resigning when the PC withdrew its support from the government. ^[5] Around the same time, prosecutors from the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) opened an investigation into Şereş dealing with his relationship to the Bulgarian consultant Stamen Stanchev. They charged he had granted insider information or otherwise used his position to help Stanchev facilitate the privatisation of Electrica South Muntenia, of the Romanian government's 8% holding in Petrom, and of Romexterra Bank, as well as the planned privatisation of the Turceni Energy Complex, allegations that he denied. ^[6] In 2009, a formal criminal case was opened against Şereş, who was indicted for treason and organised crime; five other persons are involved in the case, including Şereş' former ministerial colleague Zsolt Nagy. ^[7] In 2013, he was convicted of the charges and sentenced to six years' imprisonment. ^[8] In 2015, upon the exhaustion of his appeals, he was given a sentence of four years and eight months and incarcerated. Additionally, he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment in a case involving a corruption scandal at the state hydroelectric company, but appealed that ruling. ^[9] The ruling was also upheld in early 2016 by the High Court. ^[10]

In 1995, Şereş married Adina Zugravu, with whom he had a daughter in 1996 and whom he divorced in 2004. The catering firm of which she was director signed a number of no-bid contracts with the Economy Ministry while her former husband was in charge there. In 2006, he married Lorina Pop, the daughter of a Baia Mare businessman who later became a personal adviser to Şereş. ^[11]

See also

• List of corruption scandals in Romania

Notes

1. (in Romanian) Curriculum vitae at the Romanian Government site; accessed August 23, 2010
2. (in Romanian) "Codruţ Sereş, preşedintele Antena 1 şi Intact Production" ("Codruţ Sereş, President of Antena 1 and Intact Production") Archived 2010-08-23 at the Wayback Machine , România liberă, 23 June 2010; accessed August 23, 2010
3. (in Romanian) Parliamentary profile; accessed August 23, 2010
4. (in Romanian) Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Government; accessed August 23, 2010
5. (in Romanian) "PC iese de la guvernare, ministrul Economiei demisionează" ("PC Leaves Government, Economy Minister Resigns"), dailybusiness.ro, 3 December 2006; accessed August 23, 2010
6. (in Romanian) Cristian Stănescu, Georgeta Ghidovăţ, Simona Popa, Claudiu Târziu, "Dosarul Spionaj în ministere: 'Trădătorul' îi plătea întreţinerea 'spionului'" ("Espionage in Ministries Dossier: 'The Traitor' Paid Housing for 'The Spy'") Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine , Cotidianul, 26 November 2006; accessed August 23, 2010
7. (in Romanian) "Codruţ Şereş şi Zsolt Nagy, deferiţi justiţiei în dosarul privatizărilor" ("Codruţ Şereş and Zsolt Nagy, Handed over to the Justice System in the Privatisations Dossier"), Mediafax, 30 March 2009; accessed August 23, 2010
8. (in Romanian) Mihaela Cojocariu, "Fostul ministru Codruţ Sereş, condamnat la 6 ani de închisoare în dosarul în care este acuzat de trădare" ("Former Minister Codruţ Sereş, Sentenced to 6 Years' Imprisonment in the Case in Which He Is Accused of Treason"), Adevărul, 3 December 2013; accessed December 3, 2013
9. (in Romanian) Mihaela Cojocariu, "Foştii miniştri Codruţ Şereş şi Zsolt Nagy, încarceraţi la Penitenciarul Rahova după ce au fost condamnaţi la închisoare" ("Former Ministers Codruţ Şereş and Zsolt Nagy, Incarcerated at Rahova Penitentiary after Being Sentenced to Prison"), Adevărul, 27 January 2015; accessed January 31, 2015
10. Tudor Despina (2016-02-29), "Fostul ministru al Economiei, Codruț Șereș, condamnat definitiv la 4 ani cu executare", Revista 22, retrieved 29 February 2016
11. (in Romanian) Georgeta Ghidovăţ, George Lăcătuş, "Cum să-ţi întreţii nevasta: cazul Codruţ Şereş" ("How to Keep Your Wife: the Codruţ Şereş Case") Archived 2011-02-22 at the Wayback Machine , Cotidianul, 22 May 2007; accessed August 23, 2010