George Becali, a Romanian MP and owner of the soccer club Steaua Bucharest, was jailed for three years on Monday for abuse of power, one of only a handful of big names to be convicted in a country trying to show it can beat high-level corruption.

The European Union, which Romania joined in 2007, has its justice system under special monitoring and has repeatedly urged it to get tough on officials suspected of abuse.

Becali, 54, was convicted by Romania's highest court along with two former Defence Ministry officials, whom prosecutors accused of handing him 30 hectares of farmland that belonged to the state, costing the government about $900,000.