Post by ck4829 on Dec 15, 2016 17:18:00 GMT
She's the woman leading Romania's fight against rampant corruption
To her enemies she is an intractable foe, a throw-back to Romania’s communist era when the state abused its power to destroy lives at its whim.
To her supporters Laura Codruta Kovesi is a heroine. The one person who has finally stood up to the corrupt and powerful elite they believe has fleeced the country of its wealth for decades.
The powerful emotions the softly-spoken 43-year-old generates come as a result of her position as chief prosecutor at Romania’s Anti-Corruption Directorate - generally known by its Romanian acronym DNA - the body charged with hunting down and prosecuting the corrupt.
Established in 2003, for years the DNA had a rather lacklustre reputation, with few putting much faith in its ability to tackle the scourge of corruption.
But in 2013 Mrs Kovesi, who had already been Romania’s youngest prosecutor general, and, for a time, a professional basketball player, took over.
Under her guidance the DNA has been transformed into a seemingly octane-powered organisation, bringing in high-profile scalps and turning the tide on corruption.
“Only last year the DNA indicted over 1,250 defendants for high and medium level corruption crimes,” Mrs Kovesi told The Telegraph.
“Among them, there was one prime minister (in office at the time of the indictment), five ministers, 16 MPs and five senators, 97 mayors and deputy mayors, 32 directors of national companies and 497 people with management positions within public institutions,” she continued, adding that the all-important conviction rate for 2015 was 93 per cent.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/14/meet-laura-codruta-kovesi-woman-leading-romanias-fight-against/
To her enemies she is an intractable foe, a throw-back to Romania’s communist era when the state abused its power to destroy lives at its whim.
To her supporters Laura Codruta Kovesi is a heroine. The one person who has finally stood up to the corrupt and powerful elite they believe has fleeced the country of its wealth for decades.
The powerful emotions the softly-spoken 43-year-old generates come as a result of her position as chief prosecutor at Romania’s Anti-Corruption Directorate - generally known by its Romanian acronym DNA - the body charged with hunting down and prosecuting the corrupt.
Established in 2003, for years the DNA had a rather lacklustre reputation, with few putting much faith in its ability to tackle the scourge of corruption.
But in 2013 Mrs Kovesi, who had already been Romania’s youngest prosecutor general, and, for a time, a professional basketball player, took over.
Under her guidance the DNA has been transformed into a seemingly octane-powered organisation, bringing in high-profile scalps and turning the tide on corruption.
“Only last year the DNA indicted over 1,250 defendants for high and medium level corruption crimes,” Mrs Kovesi told The Telegraph.
“Among them, there was one prime minister (in office at the time of the indictment), five ministers, 16 MPs and five senators, 97 mayors and deputy mayors, 32 directors of national companies and 497 people with management positions within public institutions,” she continued, adding that the all-important conviction rate for 2015 was 93 per cent.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/14/meet-laura-codruta-kovesi-woman-leading-romanias-fight-against/