Former head of Profi supermarket in Romania sentenced for slander

The former manager of a Profit supermarket in Arad, who said his bosses had asked him to sell expired meat washed with detergents and vinegar, lost the lawsuit against the retailer. The company sued him for slanderous statements. The man will have to pay RON 50,000 (EUR 10,700) to the company, although Profi asked for damages of RON 1.4 million (EUR 310,000), reports local Hotnews.ro. He said he would not appeal the sentence because he no longer wants "scandal and stress”. If the retailer appeals the decision, the trial will take place at the Arad Court. The judges have forced the former supermarket superintendent to publish the decision, when it remains final, in a large national circulation newspaper, but also to publish a press release to withdraw "slanderous claims" and apologize publicly. The scandal started in March 2016, when the former manager contacted the local and national media following a conflict with his superiors. Profi is one of the biggest supermarket chains in Romania. The company, which was bought by private equity fund Mid Europa Partners in November 2016, had a turnover of EUR 790 million in 2016. Profi is the retailer with the widest footprint in Romania, covering 373 towns and villages. The company has almost 13,000 employees. editor@romania-insider.com