A Romanian county councilor who is part of the Social Democratic Party group was arrested at the end of last week along with his two sons. They are accused of usury and blackmail.
Costică Lupu, a councilor in Vaslui County Council, and his two sons are accused of providing money loans between 2021-2024 without authorization, charging illegal interest rates of up to 100% of the credit value, as reported by Vremea Nouă publication.
Furthermore, they resorted to blackmail, threatening victims with acts of violence if the money was not repaid within the agreed timeframe.
Police conducted searches on Friday at the residences of the three individuals in Negrești and confiscated several bladed weapons and sums of money totaling over 26,000 lei (over 5.000 euros).
On the same day, the police detained the three for 24 hours. On Saturday, they were brought before the judge at Vaslui Court, who ordered the preventive measure of pre-trial detention for 30 days.
Costică Lupu became a county councilor on behalf of the PSD following a protocol signed by the social democrats with the Party of Romani people "Pro-Europe" (gypsies). He is also employed at Negrești City Hall.
The leadership of PSD Vaslui hired the two sons of the councilor at Aquavas - the water supplier of the county, and at the Intercommunity Development Association (ADI) Vaslui, responsible for jointly organizing and managing waste collection services in Vaslui County.
Although one of Costică Lupu's sons had a criminal record, this did not prevent the County Council leadership from hiring him.