Bucharest, November 5th, 2025 – The law firm Georgescu Gonț announced today a significant victory in court for their client, Darius Vâlcov, a former Minister of Finance and Mayor of Slatina, who has had his three-year prison sentence for influence peddling annulled. The decision was made by the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) following the acceptance of Vâlcov’s extraordinary appeal.
Vâlcov was previously sentenced in 2023 to a total of six years in prison for multiple offenses, including influence peddling. At that time, he argued that the statute of limitations for this particular offense had expired, a claim that was not considered by the court during the initial ruling.
In yesterday’s decision, the ICCJ established that by the time of the conviction, the statute of limitations for the offense of influence peddling had already been reached, leading to the termination of the criminal proceedings for this charge. As a result, Darius Vâlcov will not serve the three-year sentence that had been upheld but will only serve the sentence for money laundering.
“Our legal team’s know-how and experience in high-stake cases made this outcome possible. With extensive experience in criminal law, we successfully built a solid defense strategy that led to the termination of the criminal proceedings,” said Adrian Georgescu.“I appreciate the fair decision made by the ICCJ, which objectively evaluated all aspects of the case and recognized the validity of our arguments,” added Ionuț Gonț.
Excerpt from the ICCJ Decision:
“The court admits the extraordinary appeal filed by the defendant Darius Vâlcov against the criminal decision no. 38 dated May 2, 2023, pronounced by the ICCJ. It partially overturns the challenged decision and, upon retrial, annuls the resulting six-year prison sentence, applying it to the individual sentences: three years for influence peddling and five years for money laundering. The court orders the termination of the criminal proceedings against the defendant for influence peddling due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. It maintains the five-year sentence for money laundering.”
About Georgescu Gonț:
Georgescu Gonț stands out in the field of white collar crime thanks to the considerable and varied experience of its founders (Adrian Georgescu, one of the most highly regarded criminal lawyers in Romania, and Ionuț Gonț, a lawyer with significant experience in the field), together with a remarkable track record in handling difficult cases.
The services cover all areas of criminal law (including corruption, money laundering, tax fraud, embezzlement, etc.), compliance with white collar crime legislation and internal investigations. Georgescu Gonț aims to support clients in an integrated and complementary manner, through well-founded defence strategies, thorough analysis and a highly personalized approach.
