Romanian Faces Extradiction to US For Arms Trading

The Appeals Court in Bucharest has agreed to surrender a Romanian citizen, Aurel Fratila, to the US authorities for selling equipment for planes to Iran, violating an international embargo.

The court also decided on Tuesday that Fratila should be arrested prior to his extradition.

Fratila, 42, a former engineer who worked for the Romanian airforce, started trading military equipment after he retired from the military in 1997.

The Romanian Intelligence Service, SRI, and the Organised Crime and Terrorism Investigation Directorate, DIICOT, have assisted US agencies in the case, which started some years ago.

In October 2006, Fratila and an Iranian general were indicted for money laundering and for conspiracy to export items to Iran that the US considered military products and for which he did not hold a licence from the US State Department.

In a first-instance ruling, a Romanian court rejected Fratila’s extradition to the US. This has now been overturned.

Romania is a member of NATO, which strongly supported the alliance in its wars against terrorism in Iran and Afghanistan.