Romania Charges Local Lukoil Arm With Money Laundering, Tax Evasion

Romanian prosecutors said theyhave charged Russian group Lukoil's Romanian refinery, Petrotel Lukoil, several of its managers and employees andits majority owner, Netherlands-based Petrotel

Lukoil Europe Holdings Bvatrium,withmoney laundering and tax evasion.The damages are estimated at a combined 7.6 billion lei, or 1.77 billion euro,the Ploiesti court of appealsaid in a statement on Monday. Last month,Romanian prosecutors seized assetsworth some 2 billion euro as part of the investigation.The assets belong to Petrotel Lukoil and to its majority owner,and include bank accounts in the UK and the Netherlands, issue premiums and shares in Petrotel Lukoil. Following the announcement, Lukoil denied the charges and said it would appeal thedecision.Lukoil's vice president for oil refiningThomas Mueller saidthatLukoilhad no intention of selling the plant or closing its Romanian refinery. In October, Petrotel Lukoilrefinery halted operations for about a weekafterprosecutors and police raided its offices and seized a large amount of raw materials as part of the sameinvestigation. At the time, damages were estimated at 230 million euro. Petrotel-Lukoil refineryis one of the largest oil refineries in Romania and Eastern Europe. Russian company Lukoil acquired it in 1998. In 2014,Petrotel-Lukoil refinery, located in the southern city of Ploiesti, reported a net loss of 308 million lei ($76.8 million/70 million euro) on a turnover of 6.46 billion lei Source: SeeNews