The energy minister's control body has started a control at Romanian state-owned gas producer Romgaz, according to government sources cited by local Economica.net.

The authorities will verify all the sponsorship and acquisition contracts the company has concluded in recent years.

In March, the Energy Ministry’s representatives in Romgaz’s general shareholders’ meeting rejected the company’s income and expenditure budget for this year. The rejection was due to the bonuses the company planned to grant to the management and the sponsorship contracts.

Romgaz is the largest gas producer in Romania and the state owns 70% of its shares. The company had a net profit of EUR 262 million last year, down by 16% compared to 2014. The company’s turnover dropped by 10% last year to EUR 900 million.

Romgaz is one of the state-owned companies that pay the highest salaries in Romania. The company’s GM Virgil Metea earned over EUR 248,000 from Romgaz in 2014, according to his wealth statement, namely over EUR 20,000 per month.

editor@romania-insider.com