Romania PM Ponta to face corruption trial

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta is to be tried by the country’s top court after he was formally indicted on several counts of corruption. Mr Ponta, who prosecutors say will not be arrested, has repeatedly denied the claims since he was charged in July. He will be the first prime minister in Romania to stand […]

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta is to be tried by the country’s top court after he was formally indicted on several counts of corruption.
Mr Ponta, who prosecutors say will not be arrested, has repeatedly denied the claims since he was charged in July.
He will be the first prime minister in Romania to stand trial while in office.
He faces charges of fraud, tax evasion and money laundering dating back to his days as a lawyer before he was elected prime minister in 2012.
President Klaus Iohannis, who has previously called on Mr Ponta to resign, said Romania’s image would suffer because of the case.
“In my view, the situation is more and more problematic for the prime minister, for the government and for the Social Democrat Party,” Mr Iohannis told reporters on Thursday.
A spokesman for Mr Ponta said the government would make a comment later on Thursday.
Four other people have also been indicted in the case and will also stand trial.
Mr Ponta has resisted calls to resign and so far has the backing of his leftist party and its allies to stay in power.  Hundreds of top officials have been convicted of fraud in recent years.