Laurențiu Ciurel Lawrence, General Director at Oltenia Energy Complex (CEO), is indicted for three offenses of abuse of office, with obtaining undue benefits between 2007 and 2008, DNA prosecutors say. In the same case were indicted also Prime Minister Victor Ponta (17 offenses of forgery of private documents, complicity in tax evasion and money laundering), Senator Dan Șova, Dumitru Cristea (accused of five offenses of abuse), then general manager at Turceni Energy Complex (CET), Laurențiu-Octavian Graure, then economic director at CET.
Investigators say that, as director of Investment Department of Rovinari Energy Complex (CER), Laurențiu Ciurel signed, in 03.09.2007, 19.12.2007 and 22.12.2008, three addenda to the contract of legal assistance for the financing contracts and related implementation of desulphurization installations at Rovinari power units 3 and 6, inked with SCA “Șova and Associates”, which supplemented the legal assistance contract value.
The contracts were awarded directly to “Șova and Associates” without any competitive process and with no amounts to be listed in the company’s procurement plan. Those acts were concluded in breach of their duties. “This conduct led to a prejudice of legal interests of CER (Rovinari energy complex – no) and produced a loss of 1,665,717.41 lei”, prosecutors say.
They also claim that Laurențiu Ciurel concluded, in February 14, 2008, another legal support contract with SCA “Șova and Associates” in the context of a dispute between Rovinari Energy Complex and SC Closure – Conservation Mines SA (ICM), with breach of duty in service, in a case which concerned an alleged debt that the CER had to pay to ICM. The contract was concluded although the energy complex already benefited from legal assistance from the law firm, under previous contract, with the sole purpose of inserting a clause on the payment of a success fee, given that at the time of signing the contract, the parties already reached an agreement on concluding a transaction.
Following the conclusion of this contract, CER has been prejudiced with 1,071,336.80 lei (of which 977,463.88 lei success fee). Referring to the same issue, just days after the conclusion of legal assistance contract, Laurențiu Ciurel completed the transaction with ICM that Rovinari Energy Complex undertakes to pay to ICM 82,139,822 lei within five years.
About the former director of Turceni Energy Complex (CET), Cristea Dumitru, prosecutors said that as general manage it signed with SCA “Șova and Associates” on 23 July 2007 a contract for legal assistance, and on 29 December 2007 concluded an addendum, in violation of public procurement legislation and duties.
Anti-corruption prosecutors say that, thus, CET budget was prejudiced with1.622.987,90 lei through reduced amounts of money allocated for investments. Also, as general manager of CET, on 27 November 2007, without specific mandate from the AGM or the Board of Directors, Dumitru Cristea ended with Electrica representatives the transaction (understanding) about the trade dispute with Electrica. Thus, CET waived some penalties for late payment of electricity. CET has been prejudiced by the amount of 12,931,936.62 lei.
On 13 February 2008, as CEO, Cristea closed another legal assistance contract with SCA “Șova and Associates” (relative to the dispute CET vs. ICM), through which was provided a payment of a success fee, given that at that time, the parties to the main proceedings already reached agreement on concluding a transaction. Following the conclusion of this agreement, CET was prejudiced with 1,242,018 lei.
Prosecutors say the two CEOs, Laurențiu Ciurel and Dumitru Cristea had damaged the budgets of Turceni and Rovinari complexes by the amount of 19,676,456.79 lei (approximately 5.6 million euros at the exchange rate of that period). In this criminal trial, ANAF is a civil party with amount of 126,979.73 in Dan Șova file and with an amount of 51,321.80 lei in the case of Victor Ponta.