Romanian Authorities Seize EUR13.5M In Insider Trading Case

Defendants in this case, handled by the local organized crime task force, include Horia Ciorcila, Claudiu Eugen Iuliu Silaghi, former vicepresident of Banca Transilvania, Georgios Christofourou, general manager at Bank Of Cyprus – Public Company Limited – Romania; Anastasios Isaakidis, employee of Bank Of Cyprus – Public Company Limited – Romania, as well as Mirela Silaghi, Dorina Marioara Cojocaru, Sergiu Dan Dascal and Radu Codrut Jurcovan, all charged with manipulation of the stock market.

In December, Bank of Cyprus announced it had bought almost 10% in Banca Transilvania.

According to investigators, the defendants allegedly acted on privileged information in order to secure a dominant position on the supply and demand of Banca Transilvania shares, as well as to create unfair trading conditions.

The assets were seized, from all defendants, to guarantee the payment of a potential fine in case the charges stick.

The total value of assets seized reaches around 57 million lei (equivalent to EUR13.5 million). The sum represents the damage caused by the defendants, through illegal transactions, people close to the inquiry told MEDIAFAX.

The case was sent to the Bucharest Court for trial.