Costa Rica News – 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 organisation’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 (US$75 million), local media reported at the time.
Both women had asked for asylum in Costa Rica.
Source: AFP/na
