Romania's President Klaus Iohannis on Friday asked Prime Minister Victor Ponta to resign after the national anti-corruption agency announced it had launched a criminal probe against Ponta.
"In my opinion, it is an impossible situation for Romania to have the Prime Minister charged with major offenses. On the other hand, the worst thing that could happen to Romania now is a political crisis. Considering all these, I am calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Victor Ponta," Iohannis said in a statement, according to Agerpres.
The National Anticorruption Directorate announced earlier on Friday it was investigating Ponta for suspected forgery, complicity to tax evasion and money laundering in his former capacity of lawyer, as well as alleged conflict of interests in his current capacity of prime minister.