Marin Sandu looked out the Lazar family
Metalurgica Reghin was dumped on the market for privatization in August 2003, and sold to a ltd company by direct negotiation. The price of the transaction was considered a real bargain at that time, but, except for the press, nobody wanted to notice the huge difference between the amount of 80 billion lei the new owner should have paid and the 636.730 Euros paid actually. The interesting aspect is that, during a full Social-democrat administration, the factory was bought by Lazar Ltd., the company of Nicolae Lazar liberal’s family. Yet, legal sources declared that the privatization file is now taken a closer look at by the DNA prosecutors from Targu Mures. The same source say the investigators are interested not only in the actual privatization, but also in the way Metalurgica SA Reghin got rid of several debts it owed to the government and the way it received the method of payment in installments for the debts not cancelled. In this context, the same sources say that all inspectors from the Mures Public Finances Direction effectuating controls at Metalurgica Reghin were already called in for hearings, and prosecutors requested the Finances to provide the documents of the company fetched by Lazar. Representatives of the Mures Finances Direction refuse to provide details to the press with regard to the investigation, in order to prevent the results of verifications from being influenced in any way. In his turn, Nicolae Lazar, owner of SC Lazar SRL says he knows nothing about verification and affirms the privatization of Metalurgica was effectuated correctly.
We would like to remind our readers that in an article published a while ago, we drew attention to the fact that, nearly two years after privatization, the company records significant losses, as it did when transferred to private property. As from privatization, the only improvements made were personnel restructuring and cutting scrap iron. Likewise, we have to remark that investments were not effectuated after all.
Cristian David
