Former Romanian football club owner indicted for “embezzling” 11 players

Florian Walter, a controversial Romanian investor and former owner of the Universitatea Cluj football club, was sent to court for moving 11 players from this club to Petrolul Ploiesti, another club which he indirectly controlled. Both clubs were playing at that time in Romania’s top football league (Liga I). Meanwhile, both clubs went bankrupt and are now playing in the fourth league. Florian Walter, and his accomplices Daniel Capra, Ioan Marginean, and Marius Adrian Nicolae, have been charged with setting up an organized crime group and embezzlement. They caused a EUR 2.5 million damage to the Universitatea Cluj football club by taking 11 of the club’s most valuable players and transferring them to Petrolul Ploiesti for free, according to the prosecutors. This happened in 2012 when Florian Walter was majority shareholder and general manager of Universitatea Cluj. At the same time, he had an interest in Petrolul Ploiesti, where he had previously been chairman of the board. Walter apparently used Daniel Capra as a middleman to control Petrolul Ploiesti, the prosecutors said. After Walter moved the 11 players and withdrew his financial support, Universitatea Cluj went bankrupt. Meanwhile, Petrolul Ploiesti went up and won the Romanian Cup in 2013 and fought for the Liga I title for two years, also playing in the UEFA Europa League. However, in 2015, Petrolul Ploiesti also went bankrupt due to the club owners’ legal problems. Daniel Capra, the club’s official owner was arrested in early 2015 and indicted in a tax evasion case. Florian Walter, who controlled Romprest, one of the biggest public sanitation companies in Romania, fled the country in May 2015, after the prosecutors started a tax evasion investigation on him. He returned one year later and was arrested. editor@romania-insider.com