Abinader orders extradition of Romanian convicted of electronic crime and money laundering

Santo Domingo.- The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, has ordered the extradition of a Romanian citizen, Cristian Baicu, who is requested by the Government of Romania to serve a sentence for high-tech crime and money laundering committed in 2011. The extradition was authorized through decree number 510-23.

The request for Baicu’s extradition was made by Romania through diplomatic notes dated April 8, 2019. The Second Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice considered the extradition request to be regular and valid in terms of form and substance.

Cristian Baicu was to serve a 4-year prison sentence and face 2 years of disqualification from exercising certain rights, as part of the complementary sentence from various convictions issued by the Court of Dolj, Romania. The extradition is based on a conviction issued by the Court of Appeal of Craiova on April 11, 2014.

Baicu was found guilty of being part of an international criminal organization he established in 2011, with the goal of committing crimes related to computer systems and networks, as well as money laundering. The organization’s activities included obtaining technology to read and copy encrypted information stored in bank card chips, including identification data and personal secret keys.

President Abinader’s extradition order includes the condition that the Romanian citizen will not be tried for any offense other than the one that led to his extradition, and he will not be subject to a penalty greater than the maximum established in the Dominican Republic.