"The Court unanimously sentences defendants Ceausescu Niculae and Ceausescu Elena, to the capital punishment." "So we are at the Gepa Center store." "Mr. George Padure, the owner of the store is here with me." " Hello, Mr. Padure." " Hello." "What do you have in this bag?" "It's the award we give for this contest, the "Price of success"." " Can you show it to us?" " Of course." "It's 300 000 lei." "You can even count if you want." "They want to build something here." "Ever since President Basescu was mayor." "If you please, Mr. Voiculescu..." "Our association chairman wants to place a phone antenna on our block." " A satellite dish?" " No, one of the harmful types." "I was very busy, I promise you that I will take care of this." "About 2 weeks ago," "I promised that we'll initiate a project through which the park will become public property." "The project was passed, many senators and deputies signed it." "Ok, fine." "All the best!" "So, there are two ghosts haunting Europe:" "The ghost of Capitalism and the ghost of Communism." "They are both ghosts of the past:" "obviously, Socialism confirmed the fact that it can't develop... the planet, as a system." "While capitalism, as we can see nowadays, proved its limits." "And things haven't come to an end." "In your book, you were saying that all the changes that have happened meant nothing but replacing some corrupt men with otherforms of corruption." "Anomenklatura was replaced with another." "In the end, only the mediocre dominated the scene of our transition." "Who formed this Romanian capital, as we know it today, after 20 years, and how did they do it?" "There was a certain group of people in Romania, and I was part of it, who still lived in the country, but was working for multinationals." "We got to taste a bit of capitalism during communist times." "We all learned some things, without working abroad, but by working here and following the principles used abroad." "So, this group of people is the only authentic and real category of Romanian capitalism." "Where were you standing in your life and career when the Revolution started?" "I was in Bucharest... working as representative for the Bucharest branch of the Crescent company." "I was earning a lot of money for that time... about 5000 dollars a month." "Ahuge wage for those times." "It's true that it was not... the state who paid me." "My boss did that, Mr. Fouad Sambar." "We worked a lot with a foreign trade enterprise, which was legally founded in Romania and also very reliable." "Incidentally, it belonged to the State Security Department." "But it was a foreign trade company like any other." "And just like we worked with all state companies we also worked with this Securitate enterprise." "And that's where this confusion started:" "if you worked with Dunarea, which belonged to the "Securitate", you were also one of the "Securitate" guys." "You need to know that this permission to work for a foreign company was given only by the "Securitate"." "I forgave those Canadians." "I should have sued them as I would have won." "Because they made a big mistake." "At the point, they stated something." "They told the Romanian authorities:" ""Arrest Voiculescu in order to find out the truth!"" "This statement only could have won me the lawsuit." "I was ready for capitalism." "I had been working in the foreign trade since 1980." "My first contract as a private company was for an export of chemical fertilizers, approved through an export license." "It was an export of complex fertilizer, to China." "The first ship I used... was accidentally named "Kommunist"." "It was a system which was gone for good in Romania." "And the ship that my partner suggested was a Russian ship." "Its name was spelled with a "K" and two Russian "M"s." "I still have pictures of it." "It was our first export as a private company." "This is my factory, as well." "Sealed plate pipes factory." "I bought it last year, I became the majority stock holder." "When I bought it, it was already bankrupt." "Now people work in three shifts and we barely meet all the orders." "It's the only sealed pipes factory in Romania." "Sealed, not tubular, like they used to make in Roman." "The factory also went bankrupt there." "Everything that Romania has bought for billions of dollars, we exported as scrap iron, in the past 1 8-19 years." "We sold everything back for nothing, we cut down factories and gave them back to the ones who had previously sold them to us as equipment." "I wonder if I'll see the day when these places will be cleaned up." "When I first came here in 2004, it was like a jungle." "If I took my gun, I could have hunted for rabbits and pheasants." "The grass was two times higher than it is now." "I asked myself:" ""My God, can we start anything here?"" "We could paint these pipes a bit..." "I made money with these factories." "And with them I created lnteragro, my own big enterprise which involves a lot of companies specialized in agriculture, chemical industry and food production." "I earned my first million at the end of 1 991, orthe beginning of 1992." "It is said that all the "ex"s started businesses in Romania, and they divided among them the different economical areas of our country." "I worked for the "Securitate" until 1 980." "I was 24 years old." "I was an officer for about 3 years and I left to work in the foreign trade." "Maybe everyone was an "ex", but who were the people mature enough at the time of the Revolution, in orderto start a business and had a minimal working capital?" "The people who were between 35 and 45 years old, just like me." "Whetherwe wanted or not, we lived in a certain system." "We didn't choose the year in which we were born." "Those were the historical conditions." "What were we supposed to do?" "Step aside?" "Disappear?" "If I know how to do something, I should refuse to do it only because I worked in the foreign trade?" "It's my fault that I existed?" "Excuse-me, but what do you mean by "ex"?" "People who were first in their class at University, who worked with the Students' Union, well-trained, speaking one ortwo foreign languages and well-educated." "This doesn't make them "ex"." "Back then, and I am strictly speaking of the Students' Union in Romania, there worked only the best people in their class, well-educated." "Well-equipped to cope with the conditions before 1 990." "I remember 1 990." "I was facing a major decision:" "remain a state employee," " I was with the Tourism Ministry at that time, after my job at the Students' Union had been terminated - or to take over my destiny" "and start a business on my own." "I knew I was ready for this." "Before 1989, I traveled a lot abroad." "So I had seen the market economy," "I had met demand and offer." "I knew that our market was lacking good quality in pastry and sweets." "Look, what a beauty!" "It's sheer beauty!" "We'll cross a gym now." "I invested a lot here, about USD 25 million and it took two years to complete." "Now, Ana Hotels offer over 2000 beds." "Four stars, five stars hotels." "In the best locations in Bucharest." "Such as Hilton and Crowne Plaza." "And two others we have, one in the mountains and one on the seaside." "Look, nothing!" "This is my structure, Mister president." "What to do?" "This is how I'm built." "After 1996, we diversified the business a lot, we invested in a factory in Pitesti which reached over 50 million Euros in exports." "Today G. Copos was questioned by the anti-corruption prosecutors." "He is accused of money laundering, togetherwith 5 other persons." "Among them, the leader of the Conservative party, Dan Voiculescu and his daughter, Camelia Voiculescu." "The prosecutors follow the money the businessman got by fraudulent transactions with the Romanian Lottery." "He has already faced trial for this last year." "Up to now, they showed me no evidence." "Even if the investigation goes back to 2006." "They don't have any evidence that I committed a crime." "The six are under criminal investigation since last march after prosecutors found that the million euro they got by selling 35 buildings belonging to the Romanian Lottery has been laundered in the bank accounts of the Voiculescu family and their business." "Today, the Constitutional Court declared as unconstitutional the law of the Council for Studying the Securitate Archives." "The judges ruled in favor for the motion brought against the Council by Dan Voiculescu, the founding president of the Conservative Party." "The Council has exposed politicians, church figures and magistrates as Securitate collaborators." "The Court ruling brings it just one step from dissolving in this electoral year." "Thus the politicians can get public functions without having their Securitate work exposed." "We've been driving on this highway for 6 years and we don't have one gas station." "That's because of all that's at stake." "You can't do anything, I swear." "I wanted to build something." "I went to Nastase, the prime-minister back then, who told me: "Go and see Contantinescu, the chief of the Department Council."" "So, I went to see him." "I asked him: "Should I build some apartments in Constantza?"" "He answered:" ""Let me talk to someone, it's better to have some connection."" "He called a guy and said to him:" ""I'm sending you Padure, see what you can do together."" "I told him:"Meaning?"" "He answered me:" ""Tell you what, we start a company, you bring the money, and I'll deal with everything else, don't worry." "I stopped everything." "I gave up." "And I'm from Constantza." "Everything has to pass through them." "If not, you can't get any authorization." "It can't be done." "And if you don't mind your business, you can end up in jail." "So why choose this life for myself?" "I keep quiet and it's fine." "I earn 1 0 million Euros?" "Ok, fine." "No problem." "You can have the hundreds of millions," "I can do without." "I don't have a yacht or anything like it." "Hello!" "I have to tell you something." "Wait mum, I'll tell you all about it." "This gentleman is making a film about some businessmen." "You didn't convince George that this regime here was better?" "You lacked persuasion?" "Through his job, as a restaurant manager, he made contact with different personalities from abroad." "That's what I believe." "Did they play with his mind?" "No, they didn't." "He saw for himself that it was better." "Did he ever tell you he wanted to leave?" " No, never." " Nothing at all!" "You just woke up and..." "I gave them sleeping pills!" "The first time I left, I sent everyone to sleep." "He gave up some kind of syrup and we all slept just fine!" "In the morning, we were wondering, where he was." " I was long gone." " Long gone!" "Did you help him with all your relationships?" "Honestly, I think it was our name that mattered." "For me, my name was the capital." "My father didn't have to make phone calls." "My name was a capital in itself." "Dad, you were one of the decent apparatchicks, where we know that there were a lot back then in Bucharest, who..." "And here too." "What villas they had with a pool and everything, while others didn't have a place to live in." "How old were you at the Revolution?" " In 1990..." " 65, 66 years old?" "Yes, 66 years old." "You could have been a mayor for 4 more years." "We could have prospered then." "No way!" "I kept saying:" ""Take a bit of land so we can build ourselves a little house."" "But he neverwanted it." "I sometimes feel embarrassed." "Embarrassed by the fact... that I couldn't get as rich as others in these 20 years... of Romanian capitalism." "I wish I could have been as rich as others." "When I was a city councelor..." "I met one of my colleagues who asked me a question that shocked me." "Its manner shocked me." "Ironically, it came from a man who is now mayor." "The man asked me:" ""George, man, what is there left to be stolen?" "Let's see what is there for us to steal in this city."" "I told him:" ""there's nothing to be stolen."" "He said:"come on, George, have they stolen everything already?"" "There were the times..." "The things we sold back then, the purchase power in 1990!" "I remember, my God, how they bought things!" "This purchase power has decreased?" "Did it decrease?" "That's the question?" "Don't you feel it?" "It means you're weel of, guys!" "No, but in theory, people were poorer back then." "Back then they were better off!" "Wealthier, much more wealthier!" "What did we do with all that money?" "Can't you see we built 8 kilometers of highway?" "The rest just went away." "It went away to something." "To cars, to what else?" "In this country, it was the "smart guys" who moved first." "We, the suckers, we bake cookies and bred here." "We are the suckers." "Remember when you wanted to leave for Spain?" "And you came to me and I told you not to leave..." "My best baker wanted to emmigrate in Spain." "Over my dead body!" "I told her." "She came with her husband, to humour me to let her go." "That's a real woman!" "If only there were people like Marita, people like the boss of patisserie, we would be before Germany today!" "People for whom I have great respect, great admiration." "Because we talk passion here, right?" "Working here it's not easy, it's an industry." "You have to work eight full hours, you have to work hard all eight of them." ""Gepa: the door through which West came to Romania."" "Let me read you the headlines from the '90s." ""A Step Toward Civilization:" "Gepa Center"" "They even called me Hero of Capitalist Work." "When I came to Romania, I brought 4 million dollars, and I landed in a very unstable economy." "Considering the business I was running..." " remember the fact that we didn't have any hypermarkets such as Metro, Carrefour or shopping malls at that time " "I was really popular among the media, among the politicians... and even among women, I must say." "I was always invited somewhere." "Whenever there was a TV show, I was its guest." "Nowadays, no one invites me anymore." " Hello, Darling." " I was thinking about you!" "Guess what I brought you today, dear?" "." " A perfume?" " Not really." " Awatch?" " Awatch, no!" " Jewellery?" " You'll never guess!" "I got you 3 000 shares for Gepa." " You just spent 3 million lei?" " Yes, it's a long term gift!" "And the best!" "Get something foryour loved ones:" "Gepa shares." "Apresent." "A bit better..." "I've been a "one man show" my whole life." "It can be a flaw, you have to be able to delegate." "The success didn't depend only on me." "But the slogan which I brought to Romania," ""something a bit betterfor you", the Gepa slogan was a study object for the marketing students of the Economical Studies Academy." "I now take advantage of my flexibility and, because of my adapting skills," "I understand that I should stop this business." "How many people are on the site today?" "Here and now, 450." "Chinese, Bulgarians and all?" "20 Chinese." "Bulgarians have the day off." "Could you teach me how to run a business?" "I can teach you the basics, how to strike a deal." "Afterthat, it's up to your own qualities, which are different from person to person." "Some are good teachers, some are very good doctors." "Some are good cops, some others good businessmen." "You have to have intuition, to know the basic rules." "Because there are rules one should learn, not only in school, but mainly by practice." "Man, what's up with that silo project?" " Don't you know we lost the bid?" " Why so?" "We needed 37 points and we got only 32." "We appealed." "Who's there to approve the appeal?" " I don't know." " Agriculture ministry?" "Those with the evaluation grid..." "Let me know who, so I can talk to a state secretary." "But make it quick!" "If I were to decide where I wanted to live," "I would chose Belgium this time." "Our country is beautiful, but our society is still affected by dictatorship on one hand, and by Balkanism, on the other hand." "These two intertwined, result in something very bad." "Yes... a bomb." "Gaby..." "I'm in the elevator." "Start with the commercials." "No, until 10 p.m. The guests go on air at 10." "Didn't you say that, you moron?" " Give me a tissue, please!" " Give a tissue to this crazy woman!" " She's crying all the time!" " You're the crazy one!" "Please!" "No, you're the one going around having sex for money!" "Gentlemen, madam, please." "I made him make out with Sexy Braileanca and Pamela so they can all fight me!" "there are about 800 which are paid for, not to mention the free ones and the e-mails." "Basically, every night that has over 500 or 600 SMS, is a good night." "It's our first feedback." "Because of the duration of the show, we have an important reach." "Almost 7 million people are watching it for at least 1 minute." "Because television in Romania... means almost everything, it's the only cheap or free thing for Romanians." "I keep thinking that if Ceausescu introduced this kind of talk shows on TV, before 1 989, the regime wouldn't have collapsed." "I consider this kind of show a great diversion method and I can't imagine why he wasn't doing it." "Imagine a talk show like the ones I make, during which he would have argued with the viewers, with his critics, or the dissidents." "It would have been extraordinary and the democracy problem in Romania would have been solved." "But his stubbornness led him to his downfall." "I made a 3-months deposit here for my daughter." "After we sold her apartment in order to get a roomier one, just when I was supposed to take it back," "And my kid is now on the street." "My son sold the car and both the cow and the calf in order to buy a tractor soon." "He deposited all the money here." "Why were you called to court?" "I'm accused of money laundering." "I came here to show a series of documents, which unlike the bare words of others, will clear everything up." "Do you consider yourself guilty?" "How do you comment upon the court's decision?" "I respect their decision." " Did you expect anything like it?" " No, I didn't." "How do you think you'll manage in prison?" "Really well." "The court has decided to accept the prosecutors request." "Have you already been confronted with the contestant?" "Mr. Vantu, why won't you declare anything?" "Why are the prosecutors constantly hunting you?" "You should ask them!" "How do you comment upon the attorney general's action against you?" "They should do it for all politicians and for all the cabinet members." "In February 1990..." "I created the first private company in Romania." "It had 7 zeros and a 1 at the end of the registration number." "It was called "Alpha", precisely forthe same reason." "It was an architecture desk, since I'm an architect." "That's how I earned my first money." "I remember working with a few colleagues." "One of them bought a car and a hunting gun, the other bought an apartment." "I invested everything until the last penny in real estate." "That's how the adventure started." "How did you reach your first million?" "I earned my first million very hard." "But I earned it in one year after 1990, with some projects..." "I have developed on the lands I owned." "Then I sold them to some pioneer entrepreneurs," "let's call them dreamers." "And you bought the "Rompetrol company" in 1998." "Yes, 1998." "But back then, Rompetrol had... a 5 million turnover, of which a million and a half were losses." "And it had 300 employees, who weren't working too hard." "And you sold it after 11 years." "I didn't sell the same company." "It only had the same name." "But you sold it for a thousand time bigger amount." "Not really a thousand time, but definitely a couple of hundred times bigger." "What were the important steps you made after buying Rompetrol?" "First, I bought the Vega refinery and afterwards, the Petromidia refinery." "These first steps gave us the critical mass we needed." "I didn't have money from my mother, obviously, but we got a lot of help from some financial institutions, which understood that we were able to rebuild a ruin of the socialist regime." "You know that everyone interpreted the conversion of your debts into state bonds as kind of immoral complicity between the State and you..." "It wasn't an immoral operation at all, it was a commercial one." "It probably was the first - and only of its kind - grand commercial operation concerning the payment of state debts to itself, as these were Petromidia's debts." "But if the State was a better negotiator..." "It couldn't have been a better negotiator." "The State didn't have intellectual resources to negotiate, as it emerged from socialism and its bureaucrats were the same as before." "They had no experience..." "of free economy, whatsoever." "But capitalism is immoral for the ordinary mindset of the transition." "There is a reverse success mythology:" "You can't be successful unless you steal." "Good evening and welcome!" "I'm honoured to greet the official delegation of Kazakhstan," "led by Mr. Kabildy," "leader of the company "Kazmunaigaz"." "I'm glad to greet Mr. Dinu Patriciu, the man who made the rebirth of "Petromidia" possible." "My dearfriends, I'm going to tell you a story." "Precisely 30 years ago," "I stopped my rusty old Dacia on the lake shore above," "togetherwith a young... and pure-hearted architect girl." "Just then, the sun began rising out of the sea." "In front of the sun there were lots of cranes and chimneys partially built." "You are among those who were brought here by the head and ears." "You were forced to do it." "But you did a wonderful job." "And, most importantly, you stood by for 30 years." "You made it bloom, out of the useless thing that it was, a monument of the building insanity of a dictator, in a totally different world." "I confess that, if I have anything to be proud of, it's that I helped you to keep it and rebuild it." "I will always think about those who stood by me in these 10 years and especially about those" "who stayed for 30 years in this place." "They passed successfully from the status of slavery to that of free men." "Thank you." "I remember drawing things to my colleagues." "When I referred to "Rompetrol", I used to draw a shark." "Afterwards, I started drawing a whale." "About 2 years ago, at a management meeting," "I first drew a cute octopus and I described the model resulting from this." "I had a lot of fun during this time." "I enjoyed it." "Yes!" "Mara, come here!" "Here, I have a candy." "In 2004, I officially transfered all my properties to my two daughters." "This is what parents do for their children." "They build for them and the children buy for their children." "And so on." "Bring the boys upstairs." "This is the office of Camelia, she's the boss." "Come on, Dad!" "What else is to be done?" "That's about it, right?" "That's the old man." "He had hair then, I don't have much." "It's not you in that picture?" "Oh yes, me, but with hair." "And you left the picture to Camelia." "The picture, it's hers." "And she will put her picture near mine, and will leave them to Eveline." "And Eveline will add her picture and leave them all to her child." " As kings of France did." " Yes!" "But it's wonderful." "It's wonderful." "Bringing Gigi Beccali to the police was a real show." "Dozens of policemen went to his house this morning." "My colleague is at the Bucharest Police right now." "Barabbas free, Jesus on the cross!" "Take care, Gigi!" "Thieves free, Becali arrested!" "Next to me, I have the two big winners." "Even if they didn't win the elections, they came in 5th place, with 7.2%." "Here is Corneliu Vadim Tudor, President of Greater Romania Party." "Good evening." "Next to him, the big winner of the moment:" "Gigi Beccali." "Good evening." " Congratulations." " Good evening." "I take off my jacket, it's getting warm here." "Aviewer told me, you are smartly dressed." "At the European Parliament, you will outsmart them just by the way you dress." "I can do that, not just with my suits!" "You'll see." " Are you nervous?" " Of course I am." "It's my first day at work and it's all new for me." "This is my office." "Here's my name:" "George Becali." "We have a good view from here." "Do you know which commitee you will be in?" "I would like to be in the agriculture, rural development and justice commitee." "The justice commitee?" "Of course, this is the most important thing." "It's something I need to do and I need to do it with dignity." "Here, everyone is very quiet and serious." "I adapt really fast." "You saw it, when I got arrested," "I immediately adapted to the rules of the prison." "I'm here now and I will adapt to the rules here." "I'll be just like them!" "Romanians started to appreciate the people working for the "Securitate"." "In the first 10 years, after the Revolution, the "Securitate" employees were condemned." "At some point, people started saying:" ""You know what?" "These were actually smart people." "We were the stupid ones"." "Then the whole dislike for the "Securitate" stopped." "Afterwards, the dislike forthe rich started." "That man has a Mercedes, let's break his windows." "The other has a villa." "This lasted for a few years." "Romanians started regretting they didn't steal as well, as the corrupt were never punished." "Everyone was afraid of the prison." "They didn't want to be arrested." "They saw that the ones who stole never got punished." "So they felt sorry that they didn't do the same things." "Because they could have had money in Switzerland, palaces, cars... and never answer in front of the justice." "For me, things are clear:" "the ones who were revolted in Romania and who wanted a change and to push the entire society upwards left the country." "So, there are 4 million Romanians who left and, from what I have studied, they all respect this criteria:" "They were the ones who showed up revolted at rallies and on TV shows and were saying:" ""My boss, my neighbour are stealing, the politicians are corrupt..."" "These are fed up now." "After they saw they couldn't make it, they left." "And afterwards, the more pleased ones stayed here." "During the Revolution, there were millions on the streets." "The rest was at home in front of the TV." "It's eitherthose who live well in Romania orthe ones who already resigned orthe ones who are so poor that they can't even afford the road to a place where they could protest." "And... from this point of view, the country is quiet and sleepy." "Back to this extraordinary case." "We have O. Zavoranu face to face with M. Columbeanu." "Over the phone, we have Monica's step father." "You have all these unreal images in your home, thanks to your favourite show." "Let's make a comparison, as we do everything that you, our watchers, our masters ask us to do..."