Nicolae Popa is a controversial Romanian businessman. In 2006 he was sentenced in absentia

In absentia

In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...

 to 15 years in jail for fraud and embezzlement related to the 2000 collapse of the Fondul Naţional de Investiţii (FNI) ponzi scheme

Ponzi scheme

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...

 with an estimated prejudice of 1.2 million euros spread between some 130,000 investors. This sentence is final; all appeals have been exhausted. Popa has also been sentenced to 12 years in jail for a different affair, Fondului Naţional de Acumulare (FNA), but this decision may still be appealed. On the run since 2002, Popa was apprehended in December 2009 in Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. Sorin Ovidiu Vântu

Sorin Ovidiu Vântu

Sorin Ovidiu Vântu is a Romanian businessman and owner of the Realitatea-Caţavencu media company. In 2008 he was considered the 5th richest man in Romania with an estimated net worth between 800 and 850 million euros....

, 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

Romanian presidential election, 2009

The first round of 2009 Romanian presidential elections was held in Romania on 22 November and a run-off round between Traian Băsescu and Mircea Geoană was held on 6 December 2009. Although most exit polls favored Geoană in the runoff, the authorities declared Băsescu the narrow victor with 50.33%...

, Popa's arrest was used as political ammunition by the incumbent president Traian Băsescu

Traian Basescu

Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...

 against runoff rival Mircea Geoană

Mircea Geoana

Dan Mircea Geoană is a Romanian politician, who served as president of the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate from December 20, 2008 until he was revoked by the senators on November 23, 2011. From 21 April 2005 until 21 February 2010 he was the head of the Partidul Social...

, after the latter met with Vântu the night before the debate just after news of Popa's apprehension broke out.