The entry of Eazy Asigurari, a subsidiary of betting group Superbet, on the Romanian motor insurance market reportedly prompted concerns in Brussels, particularly given the involvement of Hans-Holger Albrecht – the brother of EC President Ursula von der Leyen, according to a comment published by The European Conservative.

The publication speaks of the role played by local regulator ASF, which “harassed” market leader Euroins of Bulgaria (with the EBRD among shareholders) and eventually lifted its license several months before granting a license to Superbet’s subsidiary.

The European Conservative is a conservative English-language publication registered in Budapest, Hungary, with an editorial office in Vienna, Austria, and a news office in Brussels.

Specifically, Romania-based betting group Superbet announced the appointment of Hans-Holger Albrecht as chairman in February of this year, coinciding with a global expansion plan. In March, Romania’s financial market regulator ASF removed the trading licence of leading insurer Euroins on the grounds of a EUR 400 million capital deficiency, a fact seen by The European Conservatives as not transparent enough.

Eazy Asigurari was given in September a licence to sell motor insurance by ASF “against the expectations of most industry experts,” the publication reads. 

A spokesman for Euroins confirmed to The European Conservative that the company is currently pursuing a lawsuit against Romanian regulators at an EU and domestic level, adding that they believed that EU institutions were ignoring evidence that their firm was solvent.

Romanian gambling and betting group Superbet was founded by Serbian entrepreneur Sacha Dragic and has US investment fund Blackstone as a minority shareholder.

The concerns prompted by the developments were encouraged by the Commission refusing access to MEPs to an official report relating to irregularities by the primary Romanian insurance regulator and an alleged campaign of harassment against one firm in particular, the conservative publication alleges. AfD MEP Gunnar Beck considers the EU’s conduct murky enough to refer the matter to the European Ombudsman, directly citing the relationship of von der Leyen’s brother to the Romanian insurance sector.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Sarinya Pinngam/Dreamstime.com)