Romanian “daughter” LUKOIL suspected of violating the sanctions regime – RBC

The prosecutor’s office suspects Romania one of the largest Romanian oil refineries Petrotel Lukoil, which is the “daughter” LUKOIL (he owns 97% stake in the plant), in violation of the sanctions regime. It is reported by the Romanian edition Economica with reference to the indictment the prosecutor’s office.

In particular, the prosecution believes that the Petrotel Lukoil has concluded several transactions with offshore companies controlled by entities in respect of which the EU imposed sanctions. That is the conclusion reached by prosecutors analyzed the financial documents of the plant for the years 2003-2014.

One of the companies with which “daughter” LUKOIL holds a “suspicious transaction” is registered in the UK, the newspaper notes.

On the eve of the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office brought charges of money laundering and fraud six other managers of the Romanian “daughter” of Lukoil, Lukoil Europe Holdings BV The amount of damage to the country’s authorities estimated at € 1,77 Bln. Among the defendants in the case were three Russians – Petrotel Lukoil CEO Andrei Bogdanov and his two deputies – Vointsev Andrei and Olga Kuzina. Bogdanov is charged with money laundering and misuse of company funds, his deputies – complicity in the crime.

LUKOIL conflict with the Romanian authorities started in October last year. Then, prosecutors, police and customs officers conducted 23 searches in several offices of Lukoil Romania in Ploiesti, including in the office of the factory Petrotel. Companies had a few days to suspend the operation of the plant, but eventually managed to remove the arrest in court.

July 9 court of Romania has seized assets belonging to Lukoil Europe Holdings Bvatrium Holland up to € 2 billion. In court, He stated that the arrest is linked to the investigation of the criminal case on money laundering and tax evasion, which stretches from the last year. Then the factory Petrotel Lukoil were searched and documents were seized accounting. However, the court instituted criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering and tax evasion against five employees of the refinery. Losses for the years 2012-2013 was estimated at € 230 million. LUKOIL rejected the claim and appealed against the arrest of their accounts in court. As expected, the appeal of the lawsuit will be held August 5.

In the middle of July it became known that the president and principal shareholder of LUKoil, Vagit Alekperov, President of Romania sent a letter to Klaus Johannis, which asked him for a personal meeting due to the situation around Petrotel Lukoil. The businessman said that the new charges Romanian prosecutors “have once again put the refinery on the verge of closure.” According to Alekperov, the situation around the plant “strongly disturbs employees, almost all of them – Romanian citizens.” He also informed the President of Romania, which has already sent a similar appeal EU leadership “in order to conduct the most open investigation, since a stable operation of the enterprise affects the provision of petroleum products in all the European Union.”