Several people detained in tax evasion case targeting large Romanian media company

Romanian prosecutors detained 11 people indicted in the tax evasion case that targets Romanian media company MediaPro, reports local Agerpres. They are to be presented to Bucharest Court with the proposal to be placed under preventive arrest. More than 30 people have been questioned on Thursday, December 4, in the same case. Romanian prosecutors and policemen conducted on Thursday a total of 41 searches in Bucharest and Dambovita, Ilfov, Arges and Braila counties, in the case of tax evasion that targets the MediaPro group. Representatives of Bucharest Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to local news agency Agerpres that the searches were carried out at companies and the homes of people related to the MediaPro case. In December 2014, the Prosecutor’s Office from the Bucharest Court opened an investigation against 32 people suspected of tax evasion and money laundering. The suspects allegedly initiated, conducted and participated in tax evasion and money laundry circuits via which, using false documents and fictitious accounts, they've tried to not pay tax obligations to the state. The damage to the state budget amounts to some RON 6 million (around EUR 1.3 million), representing VAT and income tax. MediaPro Studios are the largest film studios in Romania. Several international film productions were shot there in recent years, featuring famous actors such as Academy Award winner Christopher Waltz (in The Zero Theorem), Shia Labeouf (in The Necessary Death Of Charlie Countryman), Jean Claude Vann Damme and Dolph Lundgren, and others. Many Romanian movies, as well as TV series and TV shows for PRO TV, Romania’s leading TV station, have also been shot here. Last year, MediaPro Studios had a turnover of EUR 12 million and losses of EUR 6.7 million, according to public data. MediaPro Studios are controlled by a company called Media Pro Entertainment, which used to be controlled by Romanian businessman Adrian Sarbu, who was also founder of Romanian TV station PRO TV. In 2009, Sarbu sold Media Pro Entertainment to CME group, which also owns PRO TV. Back then, Sarbu was CME’s operational manager and after that he became CEO of the group. In 2013. Sarbu left CME and the relationship between him and the group became very tense. CME then decided to sell Media Pro Entertainment. It is uncertain which Media Pro companies are currently investigated by the police, as no such data was made public. However, some Romanian media report that Adrian Sarbu himself is targeted by these investigations. Earlier this year, Sarbu had a strong conflict with Prime Minister Victor Ponta. Ponta accused Sarbu of coming to his office to ask him to stop fiscal authorities from controlling his firms. Sarbu denied the allegations and said that Ponta lied. Sarbu also controls the Mediafax Group, one of the largest media groups in Romania, which includes the Mediafax news agency, the Ziarul Financiar daily business newspaper and the Gandul.info news site. Mediafax filed for insolvency last week. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com