Romanian prosecutors from the Ploiesti Court of Appeal have decided to send to court their case against the companies Petrotel Lukoil Ploiesti and Lukoil Europe BV Netherlands, both part of the Russian group Lukoil.

They also indicted Russian citizen Andrey Iurevici Bogdanov, the director of Petrotel Lukoil, the company that runs the Petrotel refinery in Ploiesti. Other board members and managers of the company, including two Russian citizens, were also indicted.

They are accused of having caused the Romanian state a damage of EUR 1.76 billion, through tax evasion and money laundering operations.

Prosecutors have seized bank accounts held by Lukoil Europe BV Netherlands at British and Dutch banks, as well as the shares the firm holds at its local subsidiary, which controls the Petrotel Ploiesti refinery.

Between 2011 and 2014, the defendants allegedly misused the company’s assets to favor other companies in which they had an interest.

They closed contracts for the acquisition of raw materials at prices too high and contracts for the delivery of final products at prices below the production costs. They also used the loan Petrotel had received from its parent company to favor Lukoil Europe BV Netherlands, according to the prosecutors’ official statement.

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editor@romania-insider.com