Romania "chops" 400,000 euros for consultancy on the acquisition of Giurgiulesti Port
Romania announced last year that it wanted to acquire the Giurgiulesti Port from the Republic of Moldova, for which it purchased consulting services for a huge amount compared to the one for which it was sold by the Moldovan state.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure announced last year that it wants to acquire the Giurgiulesti Port. "located at the mouth of the Danube, just a few kilometers from the border with Romania and near the border with Ukraine and can receive both river and sea vessels.
Consulting of 400,000 euros for the acquisition of Giurgiulesti Port bought by the EBRD for… 1,000 euros
Following this announcement, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Sorin Grindeanu specified in an official document at the Chamber of Deputies that CN Administrația Porturilor Maritime SA Constanța will participate in the auction organized by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the majority shareholder of ICS Danube Logistic, the company that owns the Port of Giurgiulesti, without the involvement of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova.
In this regard, Sorin Grindeanu mentioned that "given the complexity of the transaction and its strategic importance, CN APM SA put out to tender a contract of 2 million lei for the procurement of consulting services for the acquisition of ICS Danibe Logistic".
Basically, the Ministry of Transport, through CN APM SA Constanța, will spend about 400,000 euros for consultancy in order to acquire the Giurgiulesti Port. However, on May 19, 2021, the EBRD announced that it had acquired the Giurgiulesti International Free Port for 1,000 euros.
This transaction occurs after, following document manipulation and with the support of EBRD officials, Thomas Moser took over the Giurgiulesti Port for only 344 US dollars.
The octopus of offshore companies involved in the Giurgiulesti Port affair
The story of the sale of the Giurgiulesti Port by the EBRD is a long and extremely complicated one that should give the Romanian authorities something to think about.
On May 19, 2021, the EBRD announced through a press release that on May 7, 2021, it acquired the Danube Logistics group of companies, thus becoming the sole final beneficiary of the operator of the Giurgiulesti International Free Port (PILG). However, the EBRD did not disclose details regarding the legal form and amount of the transaction.
From the press, we learn about the complex structure of the companies behind Danube Logistics SRL, the operator of the Giurgiulesti port. Danube Logistics SRL has as its founder the Dutch company Danube Logistics Holding BV. Behind it stands the Dutch company Danube Holding BV, and this, in turn, has an offshore company in Cyprus – Thomo Invest Ltd. The chain continues with Febania GmbH (Austria) and, finally, the owner and ultimate beneficiary of the companies appears – Thomas Moser, the former trustee of the Moldovan group of companies, mentioned above.
From the official register of companies in Cyprus, we learn that indeed on May 7, 2021, the EBRD became the new owner of the company Thomo Invest Ltd, and the transaction amount was 1,000 euros. Thus, the EBRD purchased an economic objective of national strategic importance for 1,000 euros, in which over 50 million euros have been invested so far.
The announcement by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) regarding the acquisition of the Danube Logistics group of companies, thus becoming the sole final beneficiary of the operator of the Giurgiulesti International Free Port (PILG), provoked several negative reactions from specialists and politicians, which, however, were much more anemic compared to other similar cases.
At the same time, the EBRD and Thomas Moser have not commented in any way on the accusations that it uses offshore schemes and operates in this case in a non-transparent and practically illegal manner, clearly ignoring the Government and authorities of the Republic of Moldova.
We note that the transaction took place while the shares of Danube Logistics SRL are under judicial seizure in order to execute the final court decision and in violation of the obligations imposed by the Investment Agreement, which provides for the mandatory acceptance of the Government of the Republic of Moldova for any transaction of alienation of the port or its shares. At the same time, in an unknown manner, changes in the shareholding of the offshore company Thomo Invest Ltd were registered at the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce on May 7, 2021.
The complicated history of ownership of the Giurgiulesti port
On December 29, 2004, the Government of the Republic of Moldova signed several agreements with the Azpetrol group of Azerbaijani companies, which included Azertrans, companies owned by Rafiq Aliyev. It should be noted that Azertrans SRL purchased the unfinished terminal in the port of Giurgiulesti from the EBRD, in exchange for the payment of the Government of the Republic of Moldova's debt, worth 20 million US dollars.
$5 million was paid immediately, and the rest in the following years, according to the payment plan. The agreements provided for the completion of the construction in Giurgiulesti of an oil terminal, a passenger and cargo port, an oil refinery, and a network of gas stations.
Following the restructuring and optimization of the group of companies in 2005, following the arrest of Mr. Rafiq Aliev in Azerbaijan (ed. - recognized as a political action by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), Easeur Holding BV (Netherlands), owned by Rafiq Aliyev, became the founder of the Azpetrol group of companies, and the companies in Moldova, Azpetrol, Azertrans and Azpetrol Refinery were renamed, respectively, into Danube Logistics SRL, Bemol Retail SRL and Bemol Refinary SRL.
At that time, Thomas Moser (former EBRD employee and employee of Azpetrol in Azerbaijan) became the administrator of the group of companies Danube Logistics SRL, Bemol Retail SRL and Bemol Refinery SRL, including the Giurgiulesti Port.
During his tenure as director of the group of companies, Thomas Moser, using the trust granted through a representation contract, formally "bought" the Giurgiulesti port for the sum of 344 US dollars. Thus, after the takeover of the Port for the sum of 344 dollars, the EBRD came back into play.
EBRD announcement regarding lending to Giurgiulesti Port
According to the bank's official website, on October 12, 2021, the EBRD announced the Giurgiulesti port lending project, and in the project sheet it specifies:
"The EBRD intends to provide a guaranteed loan to Danube Logistics SRL, a company based in the Republic of Moldova, which owns and operates the only port in the country, the Giurgiulesti International Free Port. The loan will partially finance the completion of the port infrastructure and in particular the mixed-gauge railway terminal and a container port with horizontal loading/unloading (Ro-Ro). The construction on the territory of the port of a segment of up to 100 m of mixed-gauge railway that will connect the railways of Romania and Moldova, as well as the neighboring country, Ukraine, and other CIS countries that use broad gauge.
The EBRD investment will also be used for restructuring, by refinancing short-term debt with long-term loans.
Client: Giurgiulesti International Free Port is the only port in the Republic of Moldova that belongs to and is operated by Danube Logistics SRL.
EBRD Financing: Guaranteed Loan of up to 12 million USD”.
The complicated game of former EBRD employee Thomas Moser
Returning to Moldova, in April 2014, Rafiq Aliyev implemented the representation contract, activating the clause of returning to his ownership the companies Danube Logistics SRL, Bemol Retail SRL and Bemol Refinary SRL. Thus, the companies Bemol Retail SRL and Bemol Refinary SRL were returned to Rafiq Aliyev’s ownership, while Danube Logistics SRL (the operator of the Giurgiulesti port) was not. At that moment, it became clear that Rafiq Aliyev had been defrauded by Thomas Moser. In order to return the Port to its legal ownership, Rafiq Aliyev – the shareholder of the group of companies to which Bemol Retail belongs, initiated several lawsuits, one of which is currently under examination. Also, large embezzlement and fraudulent expenses were discovered at Bemol Retail SRL during the period of Thomas Moser’s management of the company.
After long court proceedings, Thomas Moser and Ala Aydov (former managers at Bemol and Portul Giurgiulesti) were legally obliged to pay Bemol Retail damages in the amount of 177.4 million lei (Decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal). This is a lawsuit initiated on December 11, 2014, when Bemol Retail SRL filed a lawsuit against Thomas Moser and Ala Aydov regarding the compensation of material damage.
In parallel, a dispute was initiated by the shareholder Bemol Retail regarding the contract by which Thomas Moser "bought" the Giurgiulesti port for only 344 USD.
Also, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Moldova initiated a criminal case for embezzlement from Bemol Retail SRL, worth approximately 10 million USD, during the period of management of the company's financial funds by Thomas Moser.
It should be noted that throughout all these years, the EBRD was informed about the legal proceedings and the enforcement procedure, in which the shares of Danube Logistics SRL, which belonged to Thomas Moser, were placed under judicial seizure. The EBRD publicly communicated that the bank’s interest is strictly related to the repayment of the loan – a contractual right that is not affected by the legal proceedings. Furthermore, the company Bemol Retail SRL publicly stated that “they will not violate the financial interests of the EBRD and other creditors of Danube Logistics SRL.”
Also, an interesting element is the involvement of the EBRD lawyer, who "since 2010 has been advising Mr. Moser, in his illegal actions, which led to the fraudulent appropriation of the assets of the companies that are currently the subject of legal proceedings. He, together with one of the employees of the local office of the Bank, who performed his duties negligently, is trying through various manipulations to involve the EBRD in the legal disputes with Mr. Moser."
EBRD consciously acted in the interests of its former employee
Although the court rulings did not affect the EBRD's rights as a creditor, the bank consciously took an unexpected action: it announced that it had taken over the entire Giurgiulesti port, stating that it had thus become the final beneficiary of the port, this occurring in the process of executing the final decision of the Supreme Court of Justice. In fact, the EBRD consciously acted in the interests of its former employee – Thomas Moser.
In addition to the fact that the EBRD has been constantly informed about the illegal actions of Thomas Moser, the bank is aware that the Giurgiulesti Port cannot be alienated, as the Investment Agreement requires the Government's approval, an agreement that was not offered by the Interim Executive of the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, since September 2019, the share capital of Danube Logistics SRL has been seized as part of the procedures for the execution of a final court decision. The seizure is recorded in the Register of Legal Entities of the Republic of Moldova of the Public Services Agency.
The Moldovan press recalls that during 2020, there were also some failed attempts to change the legislation on combating money laundering and the liability of the final beneficiary for the activities of companies, actions that were appreciated by experts as measures to protect Thomas Moser. Now, Romania wants to buy the Giurgiulesti Port from the EBRD, but it is not yet known what the transaction amount will be.
Source https://www.puterea.ro/
