The abusive decision taken last night by Romania’s General Prosecutor’s office to temporarily detain Mr. Dinu Patriciu, President of The Rompetrol Group, is not legally grounded and is blatently unjustified.
Rompetrol and its management have always shown fairness and transparency in all their decisions, this being defining principles for Rompetrol.
Rompetrol is carrying on with its activity in a normal way and it will be, as it has always been, a strong organisation, capable of moving forward. Despite the image and economic deficit this transitory situation brings us, we will successfully overcome this moment. However, we express our concern regarding the way in which government officials have disregarded the relevant laws and procedures and decided to engage in such arbitrary and unsubstantiated government actions.
In order to assure the company’s steady operations, during this period the management will be assumed by three management committees lead by Mr. Philip Stephenson, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of The Rompetrol Group. The same existing management team will support him. The role of each of us in Rompetrol remains the same: to continue seamlessly our daily activities, with the same involvement and dedication that we have provided until now.
“We are more determined than ever to demonstrate that we are ready not only to overcome this difficult period, but also to prove that Rompetrol Group shall fulfill its local and regional development plans, remaining a successful management model, and a viable and prosperous business. We are a united team and we hope that through our proven mutual respect, creditworthiness and professionalism we shall maintain the public support even in this extreme situation,” said Philip Stephenson.
We consider that Rompetrol and the management of the company have been treated incorrectly, without legal due process, and we intend to expose those who are behind these unfair actions. We will strongly defend our rights in order to make sure that the laws are correctly applied and that we are not subjected to any abuses. Rompetrol will consider legal actions in front of Romanian and international Courts against the individuals and organizations that for more than two years have been harassing the company and its management.
By this action we expect that the legal and procedural stipulations of this case will finally be applied in an unbiased manner.