Romania’s public television channel (TVR) yesterday evening released several video and audio recordings showing former Agriculture Minister Ioan Avram Muresan meeting Remes at a terrace and handing him an envelope with money.

Remes was to give support to businessman Gheorghe Ciorba to win several auctions. Muresan allegedly acted as intermediary between the incumbent minister and businessman.

In exchange for his help, Remes was to receive 15,000 euros plus food products worth 1,500 lei, beverages and a car. Remes met Muresan on September 22 at a terrace in downtown Bucharest.

Muresan said the footage released by TVR is fake and accused President Traian Basescu of having orchestrated the whole case against him.

Despite the video, the former agriculture minister noted he was carrying a file, not an envelope with money.

Muresan told Realitatea TV businessman Gheorghe Ciorba was used by the National Anti-corruption Department (DNA) as bait. Nevertheless, the former agriculture minister admitted speaking on the phone with Ciorba several times.

Chief of anticorruption prosecutors, Daniel Morar, told TV station Realitatea TV the footage was not released by the body he runs, which would have been a violation of the law.

The government showed in a release it will not take a position for the moment, regarding the recordings released by TVR. Yet, people from the ruling National Liberal Party (PNL) Remes belongs to, said several party leaders met to talk about PNL’s possible stance on the situation.