Romanian PM found guilty in corruption case

Bucharest

Romanian prosecutors on Monday charged Prime Minister Victor Ponta with several counts of corruption, piling pressure on the embattled politician to resign.

Ponta became the highest-ranking official to be swept up in a major drive by the DNA anti-corruption agency, which has seen dozens of former politicians and judges convicted over the past several years in one of Europe's poorest and graft-plagued countries.

Ponta was charged with fraud, tax evasion and money laundering dating back to 2007-2011, before he became prime minister in 2012, the DNA said, adding that some of his assets have been frozen pending the outcome of the case.

The announcement came shortly after the 42-year-old hobbled on crutches through a crowd of reporters into DNA headquarters to face prosecutors over the graft probe that was opened against him in June.

Sources said he had refused to answer prosecutors' questions because he was waiting for the results of an official financial inquiry.

"I will come back in August when the assessment will be ready," the centre-left premier said.

The investigation had sparked calls for Ponta to resign, but he has refused to do so, staunchly denying the allegations and promising to cooperate with the probe.