Romanian PM’s adviser says insolvency law will be changed

Romania’s Government plans to change the insolvency law, former finance minister Darius Valcov said in a TV show at Romania TV news station. Valcov, who is now an adviser to prime minister Viorica Dancila and the mastermind behind the Social Democratic Party’s economic program, says the changes to the insolvency law will lead to the “disappearance of all crooks”. Valcov said that the total debts of companies in insolvency are higher than the total pensions paid by the state in 2016. He added that after the current insolvency law was enforced, the debts of insolvent companies jumped from RON 13 billion (EUR 2.8 billion) to RON 48 billion (EUR 10.3 billion). Valcov launched an attack against local news station Realitatea TV saying that it has reached some EUR 26 million worth of debts to the state budget as several firms that owned the TV station in the past went into insolvency to dodge paying their taxes. He also criticized the pension funds that invested in the initial public offering (IPO) carried out by local telecom group Digi Communications (RCS&RDS) in 2017, whose shares declined by 25% in the last year. Valcov said the shares will probably drop by another 25% in the next year as the company’s technology is outdated and that the company can be suspected for fraud. Realitatea TV and Digi’s news station have often criticized the ruling coalition. Valcov also claimed that the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) wants to send PSD leader Liviu Dragnea behind bars by September 1 this year. Valcov himself was sent to court by the DNA last year for corruption. Former Romanian finance minister gets 8-year jail sentence Romania’s personal insolvency law, postponed again editor@romania-insider.com