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Former minister Mihai Tanasescu prosecuted in Rompetrol II criminal file
The former Public Finances Minister, Mihai Tanasescu on Friday morning has showed up at the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) Hqs., where the prosecutors are to inform him that he is prosecuted in the Rompetrol II criminal file for setting up an organized criminal group, abuse of office and complicity to embezzlement.
On 24 May, president Klaus Iohannis has signed the requests by the DIICOT to start prosecution of four former ministers involved in the Rompetrol II criminal file, namely Mihai Tanasescu, Dan Ioan Popescu, Sebastian Vladescu and Gheorghe Pogea.
The DIICOT says that in September — October 2003, then Finances minister Mihai Tanasescu and the Economy and Commerce minister, Dan Ioan Popescu have "exercised their job duties in bad faith, after a bargain with Dan Costache Patriciu, George Philip Stephenson and Alexandru Nicolcioiu with the purpose to initiate and promote an Emergency Ordinance by the Government (OUG) 118/2003 through which the outstanding debts of SC Rompetrol Rafinare SA, at 30:09:2003, worth rd 603,000,000 US Dollars were converted to bonds subscribed by the Public Finances Ministry."
Following the activity of the two ministers, the said OUG was adopted in Government sitting on 24 October 2003, with non-observance of the law and of the mandatory steps required by the law.
At the beginning of May, the DIICOT has seized the Rompetrol refinery, with 14 persons prosecuted, among whom Sorin Marin, former business partner of Dinu Patriciu and shareholder with the Rompetrol company; Alexandru Nicolcioiu, Director of Manufacturing with KazMunayGas International (former Rompetrol Grup), Adrian Constantin Volintiru, former president of the State Assets Capitalization Agency (AVAS); the US citizens George Philip Stephenson and Colin Richard Hart.
Prosecutors also seized movable and immovable property with the KazMunayGas International NV, SC Oilfield Exploration Business Solutions SA and SC Rompetrol Rafinare SA, with a view to recover the following amounts of money: 1,724,168,825 lei, 290,786,616 US Dollars and 34,941,924 euro.
The DIICOT prosecutors say that in 1998, Dinu Patriciu and Sorin Marin, together with the US citizens George Philip Stephenson and Colin Richard Hart have engineered a cross-border crime group focused on developing broad activities with a view to mislead the Romanian authorities on the occasion of sealing some privatization contracts. This group was subsequently added to, some other persons: Florin Eric Chis (with double citizenship, Israeli and Romanian) Alexandru Nicolcioiu, Adrian Volintiru, as well as decision-making staff with the State Property Fund (FPS) or with the Government.