BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) – Romania’s prime minister has resigned as chairman of the ruling Social Democratic Party amid a corruption investigation, saying he wanted to prove his innocence.
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On June 5, prosecutors said the 42-year-old Ponta was suspected of tax evasion, money laundering and making false statements for work he did when he was a lawmaker.
Ponta returned to Bucharest on Wednesday after nearly a month in Turkey for knee surgical procedure, a transfer that raised questions on his political future and the steadiness of the federal government. Ponta has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Separately, prosecutors suspect he is guilty of conflict of interest as premier.
He will remain Prime Minister while labor minister Rovana Plumb will take over as PSD’s interim president until the party’s leaders will call for a national congress to decide if they elect a new president.
Ponta expressed hope that his party fellows will successfully provide the PSD leadership during this period.
The money laundering and tax evasion allegations relate to his activities as a lawyer.
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This probe is the latest in a string of enquiries by the DNA, an anti-corruption agency within Romania’s prosecutor’s office, that have cost several prominent Romanians their jobs in recent months.
