[JURIST] Lawmakers in Romania rejected a request from prosecutors to strip Prime Minister Victor Ponta [official profile] of immunity on Tuesday, despite him being named as a suspect last week in an anti-corruption probe. Prosecutors questioned [BBC report] Ponta in connection to charges of forgery, tax evasion and money laundering occurring between 2007 to 2011 and have also directed investigations toward members of his family. Members of Parliament, of which a majority belong to Ponta’s Social Democratic Party, voted 231-120 in favor of blocking the prosecution. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has called on Ponta to resign [Reuters report], but Ponta maintains that he is innocent and that his resignation would lead to a political crisis.

Prosecutors, led by chief anti-corruption prosecutor Laura Kovesi, have cracked down on the country’s widespread corruption in recent years. In April a Romanian court sentenced [JURIST report] former Senior Judge Stan Mustata to 10 years and eight months in prison for granting favorable verdicts to defendants in exchange for money. In February the parliament voted to allow [JURIST report] prosecutors to investigate prominent politician Elena Udrea on suspicion of corruption. That same month Romania’s Bucharest Appeals Court [official website, in Romanian] sentenced [JURIST report] Judge Mircea Moldovan to 22 years in prison for taking bribes from wealthy Romanian businessmen in exchange for ruling in their favor in court. The European Commission [official website] released a semi-annual Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report on Romania last year, warning [JURIST report] the nation to end political pressure on the judiciary amid continuing concerns over corruption.