Adam Easton

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.

Today's news has taken on an international dimension because they've asked the court to issue a European arrest warrant for Mr. Romanovski, who's an opposition MP, after he's just basically fallen off the radar for the past week and a half. He failed to turn up to a court hearing yesterday.

more than a week ago, which ruled that he should be remanded in custody for three months to await trial on 11 charges of fraud. He was responsible when he was deputy justice minister between 2019 and 2023 for what was called here a justice fund. That's money meant to help crime victims and reintegrate prisoners back into society.

And he is accused of basically using all that money, up to $40 million, to fund projects that he liked politically or were close to his heart. An audit found that only 40% of money from that justice fund was actually used to help crime victims.

Yeah, he hasn't allegedly used the phones that are registered to him since December the 6th. He was supposed to turn up at that court hearing on the 7th. And on social media, there was a picture of him in what appeared to be a hospital bed. No idea where that was, but his political supporters were saying, oh, what are you doing hounding this man? He's had a serious operation. This is ridiculous.

But as I say, he's not been seen at all since more than a week and a half in the country. Party members of the now opposition Law and Justice Party, which was in government when he was the deputy justice minister, say they have no idea where he is. But one governing party MP says he thinks he may have fled to Hungary where he may be seeking refuge.