Bucharest Court approves media group’s insolvency, appoints judicial administrator

The Bucharest Court has recently approved Mediafax Group’s request, one of the largest media groups in Romania, to enter insolvency. KPMG Restructuring SPRL was appointed the interim judicial administrator and the first general meeting of creditors was scheduled for March 2, 201, reports Mediafax news agency (which is also part of Mediafax Group). Mediafax Group is controlled by Romanian businessman Adrian Sarbu, the founder of Romania’s largest TV station PRO TV, and the former CEO of media group Central European Media Enterprises (CME), which now owns PRO TV. Sarbu left CME last year. The group filed for insolvency at the end of November. Mediafa Group is currently in the center of a large tax evasion and money laundering scandal in Romania. The group’s headquarters have been raided by police and prosecutors in early December and several people have been arrested in this case. Mediafax Group said in a statement that the prosecutor’s actions were abusive. The group said on Friday, December 12, that it couldn’t pay its journalists as the prosecutors and the state’s fiscal authorities have blocked the company’s accounts. The group owns the Mediafax news agency and Ziarul Financiar, which is the largest business daily newspaper in Romania. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com