A Romanian prince who was recently released from custody after being detained in Malta on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) has spoken out about his arrest and time behind bars.

Prince Paul-Philippe al Romaniei, 75, said he travelled to the country in April for an event organised by the Knights of Malta, when he was approached by police at the Westin Dragonara hotel in St Julian’s and taken into custody.

“I’m not used to being arrested, so when you come to Malta for an important event where you’re becoming a grand master and the guest of honour, and you’re accosted by four people saying you’re under arrest, it’s not very pleasant,” he said.

In April, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta – which claims continuity with the original Knights Hospitaller – told Times of Malta the prince was not a member of the organisation, nor had he been invited to any of its events.

Luckily, it wasn’t in front of the dignitaries that flew in; it would have been a circus at that point- Romanian prince

The prince was arrested as he returned to the hotel after a day out with his wife Lia Georgia Triff, who described the arrest as “professional” but “suspect” because it took place on a Sunday – speculating that “few lawyers” would have picked up the phone that day.

“They didn’t manhandle my husband. It was startling because it was plainclothed police and in an unmarked car, so we were not sure what was going on... luckily, it wasn’t in front of the dignitaries that flew in; it would have been a circus at that point,” she said.

The prince was denied bail due to the seriousness of the corruption charges levelled against him in his homeland, and spent more than two months in prison while battling an extradition order.

Describing the conditions, he said he was kept with seven others in “quite a large room” with a courtyard for exercise.

“It wasn’t too bad. The people were decent, quite correct with me... but it’s very unnerving coming to a beautiful place like Malta and finding yourself enclosed in a prison,” he said, adding that having to give his name in the morning and evening felt “like military service”.

Details of his case “had come out on television, so everyone seemed to know who I was... [but] it didn’t go against me, that was the lucky thing. I suppose I made the best out of something very unpleasant,” he said.

‘Pretty disgusting’

The prince was speaking to Times of Malta by video call from Paris, where he returned to shortly after winning his fight against the extradition request in Malta.

He was less gregarious of the arrest warrant that landed him in jail, however, describing it as having been “used politically” by some politicians and “security people... relics of the time of Ceaușescu”.

Nicolae Ceaușescu was a totalitarian communist leader who ruled Romania with an iron fist for almost 25 years before being overthrown and executed during a revolution in 1989.

“They [those behind the warrant] are not understanding what it is to be part of the European Union... They’ve arrested people for political reasons, and they try to influence foreign governments,” said the prince.

“They thought maybe they could manage with Malta, because Malta had problems, corruptions... They put Malta in an awkward situation, and I’m very ashamed of what Romania did. I think it’s pretty disgusting, actually.”

‘A question of greed’

Prince Paul was sentenced to three years and four months in prison by a Romanian court in December 2020 after being found guilty of corruption charges related to real estate that authorities said he falsely claimed ownership of near the capital Bucharest.

Asked about the charges, Prince Paul-Philippe denied them, accusing the authorities of “sabotaging” his legitimate claims to properties that had once belonged to his family.

Although the law in Romania, like other former communist states, allows persons to reclaim land confiscated by the communists, when the prince and his father attempted to reclaim family property, they were refused and told it had been seized by the Nazis instead.

“Basically, it’s a question of greed. Many politicians wanted these properties, and they were not happy that we wanted to claim them back, even though we had all the rights as any Romanian citizen,” he said.

The prince maintains that when he returned to the country in 1990, it was not to reclaim properties but “because I wanted to see if we could help the orphans”, pointing to the “terrible situation” in the country’s orphanages and schools.

“Nobody got properties for the first 17 years until Romania got into the European Union. So, that was not my reason, but I inherited a piece of land which is Băneasa Royal Farm, which is worth between €150 and €200 million.”

And he denies trading in influence, claiming he steered clear of being involved in reclaiming properties, instead leaving the job to a lawyer he said was cleared of the same charges.

“If you have a top lawyer negotiating the return of properties and you’re not involved in that, how can you be accused of traffic of interest?”

Responding to claims he is not the legitimate heir to King Carol II, who ruled Romania from 1930 to 1940, Prince Paul-Philippe called the idea “ridiculous”, stressing his claim had been recognised by the country’s Supreme Court in 2012.

“They recognised it themselves, and it was recognised in five countries in Europe in the 1950s and 60s. So, it’s clear that there was political involvement in that decision [to reject the claim],” he said.

‘Shocking’ Romanian prisons

Asked if he was scared to face prison time in Romania – in jails described as “harsh and overcrowded” by the US embassy in the country earlier this year – the prince said, “anybody would be scared of [such] conditions”.

Explaining that he had visited Romanian prisons with his wife as sponsors of the gendarmes [military police], he said they had been “shocked” by what they saw.

“Knowing that, of course I was rather worried about being put there, but I was more worried about being put there when I’m innocent.”

Asked if he was concerned he could be targeted by political opponents while in prison, the prince admitted he was, pointing to what he claims appeared to be an assassination attempt in 2000 when he said a car drove into his, attempting to push him off a cliff.

‘Romanians used the Maltese’

Considering his recent experiences, would the prince return to Malta in the future?

“I will return. I need to digest what has happened, but I don’t blame totally Malta; I blame the Romanians trying to corrupt Malta,” he said.

Describing the recent arrest as having put a strain on his family, he said they were recovering but still wanted to return to their homeland eventually: “It’s our home.”

Accusing bad actors in the Romanian government of having tried to “take advantage” of Malta, the prince said he was “grateful the Maltese got it together”.

“They understood the Romanians took them for a ride. The Romanians used the Maltese to do what they want; they didn’t care about the Maltese getting involved in this. They didn’t really care.”

The couple thanked their lawyers Jason Azzopardi, Alessandro Farrugia and Kris Busietta, as well as other members of the defence team during the interview.