Gheorghe Hutanu, a former councilor in the Government, and who is convicted for acts of corruption, continues to live, illegally, in a luxurious state owned villa.

The house is placed in the central area of Bucharest, and Hutanu pays a bout 60 euros for rent in order to occupy the 90 square meters available. The real estate market shows that the right price for a rent in that house would be well over 2.000 euros.

Dismissed after EVZ’s investigation

Hutanu is a close friend of liberal senator Radu Stroe, who was recently proposed as Minister of Defence by Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu.

Hutanu’s adventure started back in 2006, when he was appoinded as councilor in the government’s general secretariat. A year later, he was dismissed after EVZ revealed that the National Anti Corruption Department had started an inquiry over acts of corruption commited while being a commissar in a revenue office.

At the time, senator Stroe acted promptly and fired his closest councilor and publicly announced that Hutanu will no longer benefit from a protocol house. Later on, things settled in quite a different manner.

Hutanu’s present indwelling in the villa is in clear contradiction to the government press release in 2007, where it was clearly stated that: “Once dismissed from his attributions, Hutanu’s rental contract for the work residence”. Contacted by EVZ, Radu Stroe, the man who also approved the cited press release, said he doesn’t know what happened to his former councilor and added that he has no information regarding the relation between Hutanu and the Administration for State Protocol Patrimony (RAPPS). “I wasn’t interested in his actions since the moment he left the government”, said Stroe.

Permanent guest

RAPPS officials confirmed that Hutanu still pays rent to the state, a year after being dismissed. His apartment is situated in a “ground zero” area of Bucharest.

The contract signed between the authorities and Hutanu has an undetermined duration and can stretch up until “solving the locative situation”.

The authorities have notified Hutanu about evicting the house. Yet, due to the advantages mentioned in the contract, he can sue the state and thus timing out his leaving.

A family matter: Daughter owns properties, while the father pays rent

According to the law, public officials receive a house from the Romanian state, only if they have homes in the territory and do not own a house in Bucharest. In Hutanu’s case, both conditions were formally valid. A year before coming to Bucharest, Hutanu had bought an apartment in Calea Victoriei, a central area of Bucharest. The property has been transferred to his daughter, Sabina, in order to provide him a cheap house from the state.

Convicted The trial in which Gheorghe Hutanu was convicted for acts of corruption is still handled by the Sibiu Court. Hutanu was even convicted to 4 years of jail on the 13 of February this year, for illegally exerting his influence and complicity to traffic and work abuse. The decision is not definitive.

The prosecutors accused Hutanu of helping an Italian business man, avoid the financial inspections. The price for such a favor was about 135.000 euros.