Nicolae Popa (born 1965) is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n criminal. In 2006 he was sentenced ''in absentia'' to 15 years in jail for fraud and embezzlement related to the 2000 collapse of the Fondul Național de Investiții (FNI)

Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are comin ...

, with an estimated prejudice of 1.2 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s spread between some 130,000 investors. The sentence was final; all appeals were exhausted. Popa was also sentenced to 12 years in jail for a different affair, Fondul Național de Acumulare (FNA), but this decision may still be appealed. On the run since 2002, Popa was apprehended in December 2009 in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Sorin Ovidiu Vântu Sorin Ovidiu Vîntu (; 23 November 1955, Bucharest) is a Romanian businessman and owner of the Realitatea-Cațavencu media company. In 2007, he was considered the 4th richest man in Romania, with an estimated net worth between 2.1 and 2.3 billion ...

, a high-profile businessman and owner of several newspapers and television stations, declared after Popa's apprehension that he still considers Popa a friend and that the sentences are "a giant manipulation". In the final televised debate of the 2009 presidential elections, Popa's arrest was used as political ammunition by the incumbent president

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservatism, conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions ...

against runoff rival

Mircea Geoană Dan Mircea Geoană (; born 14 July 1958) is a Romanian politician and former ambassador who served as president of the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate from 20 December 2008 until he was revoked on 23 November 2011. From 21 A ...

, after the latter met with Vântu the night before the debate just after news of Popa's apprehension broke out.Băsescu l-a întrebat pe Geoană despre întâlnirea de miercuri seară cu Vântu
/ref>

References

Year of birth uncertain Living people Romanian white-collar criminals Romanian businesspeople Pyramid and Ponzi schemes {{Romania-stub