SAN JOS, Oct 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A former Romanian minister jailed in
absentia for corruption has been arrested in the central American nation of
Costa Rica, along with another ex-official, Interpol said.
Gustavo Chichilla, the international police organization’s chief in San
Jose, said Elena Udrea was detained on Wednesday along with Alina Bica,
former Romanian chief prosecutor in charge of organized crime and terrorism.
Bica was arrested in a separate operation, and the women were being held
for an extradition hearing.
In June, a Romanian court upheld a six-year jail sentence against Udrea, a
former model in glamor magazines.
Once considered one of her country’s most influential politicians, she was
convicted for taking bribes from several businessmen in connection with the
financing of a boxing show in 2011.
Bica was arrested in her country in 2014 on corruption charges over a real
estate deal alleged to have cost the government more than 60 million euros
($75 million), local media reported at the time.
Both women had asked for asylum in Costa Rica.