site.btaAppellate Court Adjourns Extradition Case of Romania's Ex-Tourism Minister

The Sofia Appellate Court Tuesday adjourned its hearing on the extradition case of Romania's former Tourism Minister Elena Udrea until May 18. One of the defendant's lawyers did not show up in court due to some medical problem and Udrea also asked that new evidence be taken into consideration by the court. 

Udrea, 48, who was minister of regional development and tourism from 2009 to 2012, is under a six years' enforceable prison sentence in Romania for accepting over 12 million leu and 1.1 million euro in bribes from several companies for a series of actions intended to obtain an undue benefit.

She was detained on April 7 by the Bulgarian Border Police as she attempted to cross by car into Greece through the Kulata Checkpoint.

In mid-April, the Blagoevgrad District Court approved her surrender to the Romanian authorities in execution of a European Arrest Warrant issued by a court in Bucharest on April 7, 2022. She appealed the court ruling before the Sofia Appellate Court.