IMPARȚIALITATE·INTEGRITATE·EFICIENȚĂ
August, 20th, 2014
No. 1210/VIII/3
Press Release
To complete the press release no. 1194 on the 13th of August 2014, regarding the perpetrated acts similar to corruption committed within the energy companies Turceni and Rovinari, the Information and Public Relations Office is authorized to issue the following information:
The prosecutors within the National Anticorruption Directorate – the Section for Combating Offences Related to those of Corruption have ordered the start of the criminal investigation against the following defendant:
CIUREL LAURENȚIU-DAN, successively acting as a director of the Investments Dirrectorate (21.03.2007) and later and as credit release authority of the Energy Company Rovinari (C.E.R), charged for 3 offences of abuse of office, by receiving undue benefits for himself or other, one of them through repeated acts;
In this case there are reasonable indicia describing the following state of facts:
- On the 21st of March 2007, while acting as a Director of Investments within the Energy Company Rovinari (C.E.R), the suspect Ciurel Laurențiu-Dan signed a contract of legal assistance with the Legal Practice „Șova și Asociații” called „Legal Consultancy for closing the financing and execution contracts for removal of sulphur related to the energy groups 3 and 6 Rovinari”. Later, during September – December 2007, he also signed addendums to this contract, increasing the value of the contracts with different amounts. As a consequence, the Legal Practice „Șova și Asociații” represented the Energy Company Rovinari in general jurisdiction disputes, and thus damaged the company with the amount of 1 million Lei by decreasing the amounts allocated to the investment fund, proportionally with the amounts paid unequally. The Legal Practice SCA „Șova și Asociații” received the same amount as undue benefits.
- On the 14th of February 2008, while acting as a general director and credit release authority of the Energy Company Rovinari (C.E.R), the suspect Ciurel Laurențiu-Dan signed another contract of legal assistance with the Legal Practice SCA „Șova și Asociații” (regarding the legal dispute CER vs. ICM - SC for Closing – Conservation of Mines SA), by breaking the legal provisions regarding the good financial management. As a consequence to this contract, CER was damaged with the amount of 1,071,336 Lei. The Legal Practice SCA „Șova și Asociații” received the same amount as undue benefits.
- On the 19th of February 2008, while acting as a general director of CER, without having a special warrant on behalf of the General Assembly or the Administration Council and by breaking the duties of the general director through the Order of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, closed a transaction with ICM, according to which CET was bound to pay to ICM the total amount of 82,139,822 Lei during a 5 years term. The value of the damage caused to CET was the amount of 82,139,822 Lei.
The damage caused to the Energy Company Rovinari (CET) through the described activities exceeds the amount of 84 million Lei.
The above mentioned people were informed about their status and charges brought against them, in accordance with the provisions of art. 307 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
It should be mentioned that the start of the criminal action represents a stage of a criminal trial regulated by the Criminal Procedure Code, a situation which cannot, under any circumstances, infringe the principle of presumption of innocence.
THE INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE