Romanian former minister Elena Udrea, who challenged the justice of her country by taking refuge in Costa Rica, was arrested on Wednesday at 10:00 am in the Sabana Oeste sector.
Agents of the Judicial Investigation Agency of the Central National Office-Interpol Costa Rica, with the collaboration of officers of the Directorate of Intelligence and National Security (DIS), captured the 44-year-old foreigner, who is wanted by the authorities of Romania.
Udrea had a red notification in the Interpol database for the crimes of bribery and abuse of power, issued by Interpol Bucharest.
She was nicknamed by the Romanian media as “Traian Basescu’s blonde “, for her relationship with the former center-right president (2004-2014) Basescu. She is accused of receiving bribes from numerous businessmen for a boxing evening in 2011.
It is worth mentioning that in that country the woman is also questioned for the origin of her fortune and will have to return 900 thousand euros to two local businessmen and pay 1.7 million euros for damages to the National Tourism Authority.
Udrea was convicted in March 2017 and appealed, but her sentence was confirmed on Tuesday. In this same case a former president of the Romanian Boxing Federation, Rudel Obreja, was sentenced to five years in prison.
According to Romania’s anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, the former minister and other people in her environment would have received bribes to grant public tenders.
In the past, Udrea posed for photographers of women’s magazines and came to be considered as one of the most influential people in Romania.
It is worth mentioning that a second woman of Romanian origin was also arrested on Wednesday. The foreigner is surnamed Bica and had a red notification in the Interpol database, for the crimes of bribery and corruption, also generated by Interpol Bucharest. She was arrested at 2:00 pm on public roads in the Sabana Este sector.