Bucharest’s Malagamba restaurant re-opens after closure by the fraud squad

The Malagamba restaurant in Bucharest’s Old Town, closed recently due to a decision issued by the Financial authorities, re-opens today ( January 19 ), the owners have announced in a statement. The restaurant's owners appealed the decision that required them to close down for three months and pay a RON 8,000 fine ( a little over EUR 1,800 ), as they consider this to be an unfair penalty for a EUR 9 infringement. According to the restaurant owners, the extra money represented the waiting on staff's tips. "Malagamba restaurant have decided to appeal the decision requiring them to close for 3 months and pay RON 8,000 in fines over what they consider to be an unfair penalty for a EUR 9 infringement. Pending the appeal to the Bucharest Tribunal court, Malagamba will re-open on Thursday Jan. 19th," reads the Malagamba statement. Malagamba is owned by Irish John McCarthy. We wrote about the closing down of the restaurant here. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Malagamba)