Criminal battling to stay in Scotland after failing in bid to avoid extradition
A man suspected of being involved in organised crime in Romania and who became one of the country's most wanted men has failed in a bid to avoid extraditionGheorghe Marcoci, now believed to be living in Troon in Ayrshire, fled his homeland in 2018 where he was facing multiple charges of tax evasion.In his absence the 55-year-old accountant was sentenced to a total of ten years in prison for tax evasion at two separate trials in 2018 and 2020. Last year a sheriff ordered his extradition back to Romania to serve the prison sentencesDetails of the case emerged for the first time earlier this week when three judges refused to grant Marcoci leave to appeal his extradition at the High Court in Edinburgh.However the Romanian will be able to remain in Scotland while a separate application for asylum is being considered.The court was told that the first prison sentence was for three years but later increased to a maximum of eight after an appeal by prosecutors.It was while that sentence was being reviewed and appealed that Marcoci fled to the UK.The second jail sentence in 2020 was for two years - also for tax evasion.Marcoci who represented himself at the appeal said any extradition would be incompatible with his rights under ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights)The extradition hearing had been told that he ran an accountancy practice in Romania with around 160 clients, some of them high profile and known to the public.He experienced "regular difficulties" with the Romanian tax authorities while acting for clients in tax disputes and appeals. Marcoci was frequently asked by the tax authorities to disclose his clients’ confidential financial information but refused.Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.All you have to do is click here, select 'Join Community' and you're in!We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like.To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.Marccoci was arrested in 2016. Police arrived at his office in the Romanian city of Arad with a search warrant and took away his computers looking for evidence of fraud.Marcoci also claimed to have received a visit from the Romanian intelligence service, the SRI. They wanted information about his clients, saying “we know everything anyway.”After he fled Romania European Arrest Warrants were issued by judges seeking to enforce the prison terms.Marcoci was arrested by Police Scotland in July 2022 with the extradition hearing taking place last MarchHe claimed the prosecutions had been brought by the Romanian authorities due to his stance on client confidentiality.Marcoci said the prosecutions were politically motivated and he had not been given a fair trial.The appeal hearing was also told that the accountant had claimed asylum last June more than three months after the sheriff had ordered his extradition . No decision had yet been made by the Home Office.Marcoci claimed the first prison sentence had been increased on appeal because of his suspected involvement in organised crime. He said there was no evidence to support such involvement.The judges were told he had had lived in Scotland for seven years, with a new life and a new family and was not subject to any criminal proceedings here.Marcoci also said there were ongoing appeals in Romania against his convictions which was new information not made available to the sheriff last year. Had it been, it would have resulted in him coming to a different decision, he claimedThe case was heard by three appeal judges Lord Doherty, Lady Wise and Lord Armstrong. In a 14 page judgement Lady Wise and her two colleagues backed the sheriff's decision to order Marcoci's extraditionLady Wise said:"This court can allow an appeal only if certain conditions are met."We we are not satisfied that any material error in the sheriff’s analysis or conclusions has been identified."The sheriff found the appellant’s evidence, claiming that the criminal prosecutions against him were politically motivated, unpersuasive.The appellant has not advanced any convincing basis for interfering with the sheriff’s conclusion that there did not appear to be any planned campaign of harassment against him."No evidence was led before the sheriff that would have justified a conclusion that the appellant had been denied a fair trial."For the reasons given we shall refuse this application for leave to appeal."Criminals fleeing the justice systems in countries like Romania have been seeking refuge in Scotland for the past 20 years according to retired police chief Graeme Pearson.Mr Pearson, a former Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency said:"Europe has as a whole become open to criminals moving across state boundaries to enable their criminal activity."They turn up in Scotland and are invisible to the authorities and that gives them a couple of years sanctuary to develop their enterprises."It also enables them to maintain their links with organised crime in their various homelands and keeps them outwith the grasp of law enforcement."Criminals have always recognised that weakness and have been taking advantage of it for the last couple of decades."
