The Romanian government criticized on Wednesday reports of the British daily, The Sun, on the rising number of crimes involving Romanians in Britain, saying the situation was "exaggerated."

The Sun published a leaked memo saying Britain might face a crime wave after Romania and Bulgaria join the European Union on Jan. 1, 2007. Citing the memo, the paper said that the Romanian gangs have already committed 80 to 85 percent of all cash-point crimes in Britain.

The Romanian interior ministry said in a press release that the Bucharest-based National Interpol Bureau has detected 38 criminal cases involving Romanian nationals, of the 67 verification requests filed by the London-based BCN Interpol.

Of those 38 cases, three involved forgery, two burglary, one theft and one concealment, the ministry said, adding that only one Romanian citizen has been extradited from Britain, and sentenced in Romania for theft.

According to the press release, the number of the Romanian nationals expelled from Britain for having committed illegal acts has fallen rapidly in the past years. In the first nine months of 2006 there were 673 Romanian nationals expatriated back home, compared to 1,577 in 2004 and 1,341 in 2005.

Source: Xinhua