Court decides wife of Romanian businessman Patriciu has to pay EUR 98 mln in fees for asset split during divorce

The wife of Romanian businessman Dinu Patriciu, who is currently in the middle of one of the highest profile divorces ever in Romania, would have to pay some EUR 98 million (the equivalent of RON 435 million) in court fees in order to get half of the family fortune. Dana Patriciu had filed for public support, which would have exempted her from paying this fee, but the Bucharest District 1 Court recently ruled against it. She has until April 17 to pay the taxes, otherwise her request of splitting the family fortune will be canceled, while the divorce trial will continue. The recent court decision can be further appealed.

Dana Patriciu claimed her husband's fortune is of some EUR 2.3 billion, which placed the court fees at 3 percent of this amount. When she filed for public support in order not to pay the fees, the court asked several state institutions to send information about the taxable income of the Patriciu family, including assets, real estate, bank accounts, as well as companies where they are associates or administrators. The divorce is due to go to trial on March 27. Dana Patriciu said her husband of 18 years gave away goods that belonged to the family, as he had an affair and his health was poor. She accuses him of having taken furniture and décor pieces and gifts from their house in Siliştea Snagovului and given them to his mistress, or signed them off to her. The Patriciu couple together own real estate, paintings, jewelry and shares in companies in several countries. The high profile divorce is happening while Dinu Patriciu is recovering from liver transplant. He went through surgery in December last year, and is currently convalescing in London, according to Romanian media. Patriciu's path has not been an easy one in 2012: some of his companies went insolvent – the retail businesses Mic.ro and MiniMax, and he sold Adevarul Holding in September last year to Cristian Burci. According to Romanian media, Patriciu's debts amount to some EUR 100 million. Dinu Patriciu, whose wealth was previously estimated at some USD 1.9 billion, is no longer the only Romanian billionaire on the Forbes list. The businessman was replaced by another Romanian investor, Ioan Niculae, with an estimated fortune of USD 1.1 billion. Patriciu used to own oil and gas company Rompetrol, which he sold in 2007 KazMunaiGaz (KMG), Kazakhstan’s state-owned company, in a deal estimated to be worth around USD 3 billion, and went on to invest in retail, real estate and media. editor@romania-insider.com