Head of Sibiu stock exchange dismissed, media suggest he left Romania with clients' funds

Romania investor Cristian Sima, the president and general manager of the Sibiu Stock Exchange - Sibex was dismissed from his position with Sibex earlier today (October 10 ) while Romanian media suggest Sima left the country at the end of September, taking some of his clients' money with him. His dismissal from Sibex came as he had not showed up at work for a longer period and had been out of reach for several days. The Police started an investigation after reading the information in the media. Sima, the founder of WBS Romania and of WBS Holding brokerage firms, seems to have cut all contact with colleagues and friends since the beginning of October, according to Romanian media. WBS Holding, the firm he owns and which is registered in the Virgin Islands, deals with transactions on international markets for its clients, who do not have access to their accounts to check whether their funds still exist. Local media suggest two possible explanations, quoting market sources: Sima either lost his clients' money and left the country, or simply took the money upon leaving. According to Mediafax newswire, Cristian Sima emailed one of the managers at Sibex on October 1, saying his laptop, phone, documents and bank card were stolen and asked them to be blocked. After that, Sibex employees could not get hold of him. Cristian Sima, a former minority shareholder in the news website Hotnews.ro, also sold his 10 percent share package in the media company at the end of September, according to previous information. editor@romania-insider.com