Jailed Romanian media mogul to be released early – for writing eight books

Dan Voiculescu, a former politician and founder of Romania's Intact Media Group, sentenced to ten years in prison for money laundering, has had eight months of his sentence commuted, after he wrote a number of books. EURACTIV Romania reports.

Voiculescu, one of Romania's wealthiest billionaires, was convicted for money laundering and the fraudulent privatisation of the Food Research Institute. Due to his age, and engagement in intellectual activities such as writing books, he will now not serve a large part of his sentence.

Such activities are provided for under Article 100 of the Romanian criminal code.

Legislation which guarantees free access to public information allowed reporters to learn that Voiculescu has written eight books since he was first imprisoned in August 2014. The books are on a variety of subjects, including sustainable development, foreign investment and the Romanian economy.

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According to the criminal code and a law that was amended in 2013, each academic work published reduces the author’s sentence by 30 days. The same code stipulates that prisoners over the age of 60 can be released once they have served a third of their sentence.

Other notable Romanians to have taken advantage of the law include Adrian N?stase, a former prime minister, and Gheorghe Popescu, a former Barcelona footballer, who was convicted of tax evasion in 2014, and has already written a number of books.