Ottawa                                                                                                             October 13th, 2003

 

Eugen Szekely

13A Howick Place

Ottawa, Ontario

K1S 3S4, Canada

Telephone: [1] (613) 233 1743

Telecopier: [1] (613) 233 1743

Email: eszekely@rogers.com

 

 

Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr

Chairman's Office - USA Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036 USA
Telephone: [1] (646) 471 4000
Telecopier: [1] (646) 471 3188

 

 

BY FAX

 

 

Subject: Romanian prosecutors investigate accusations of illegalities in the COMTIM’s liquidation procedure handled by PricewaterhouseCoopers Romania

 

 

Dear Mr. DiPiazza Jr.,

 

As on my previous communication I would like to keep your office, as well as the other Senior PwC Partners that are aware of my accusations against PwC Romania, informed of the latest developments taking place in Romania concerning this case.

 

On September 6th, 2003 the Romanian newspapers have announced that the Romanian prosecutors have opened an investigation (registered with the number 147/P/2003) in the alleged illegal actions taken by the Syndic Judge Mrs. Marghescu in the liquidation procedure of COMTIM.  The investigation was opened at the request of the association “Cuponul” that comprises more than 110,000 shareholders of COMTIM S.A.  The same association was notified that their complaints against Mr. Radu Bufanu (PwC Consultant overseeing the liquidation of COMTIM until recently), Mr. Mihail Bojinca and Mr. Mircea Stoita relative to their role in the bankruptcy and the liquidation of COMTIM are being investigated as well.

The same report was included in one of the leading Romanian newspapers “Evenimentul Zilei” in their edition of August 7th, 2003 (it can be viewed here http://www.expres.ro/vest/?news_id=128055).  The same newspaper on June 6th, 2003, reveals the accusations of the association “Cuponul” which accuses Mr. Radu Bufanu (as the liquidator of COMTIM from PwC Romania) of selling land, owned by the Romanian State, as assets of COMTIM to an Italian investor part of the liquidation procedure.  The newspaper mentions that the association “Cuponul” didn’t accuse directly PwC, but personally the PwC representative in the liquidation procedure.  In the newspaper, Radu Bufanu directs any inquiry about these accusations to PricewaterhouseCoopers, his employer, thus concluding the circle of blame.  This article can be seen on the web here http://www.expres.ro/vest/?news_id=122246.

 

The short summary of the Romanian events confirms entirely my accusations that I brought since June 2001 to the attention of PWC offices in US, UK and Canada.  The 120,000 shareholders accuse indirectly PwC of selling land that COMTIM did not own to an Italian investor, making Mr. Emilian Radu’s sale of my house just another event in a pattern of illegal actions.  It is very surprising that your two investigations have failed to discover any wrongdoing with these actions of the Romanian office.

 

As I have not received any reply to my communication to you dated August 2003, I have presented my case to different journalists in Romania.  As a result, the case was presented on the Romanian Television (TVR) on September 6th, 2003 and will be broadcasted on BBC Radio and Radio France International.

I further presented the complete file (150 pages) of copies of original documents to the written media in Romania, contacting the leading national newspapers about the illegal action of your Romanian office and stressing the passive role of the UK and US offices in this matter.  I will post the result of the newspapers’ investigation on the web site dedicated entirely to this case www.pwcromania.com

 

In the alternative media, the web site www.pwcromania.com was indexed in the leading search engines and it is visible when searching a variety of keyword combinations including “PricewaterhouseCoopers Romania” and “PwC fraud”.  I will further continue to make this case public, showing the disparity between PwC’s public message of ethical behavior and its conduct in this case.

 

I would like to note that the response of the PwC Romanian office to inquiries made by the media surrounding this case turned into an attempt to cover the fraud with lies.  I would like to exemplify, quoting the following public statements:

 

- in the article published in “Evenimentul Zilei” on February 11th, 2003 (http://www.expres.ro/vest/?news_id=111626 with the English translation here http://www.oocities.org/pwcromania/evzileieng.html) , Radu Bufanu “confirms that initially an advert was published, but that lately was removed on purpose to eliminate any dishonest interpretation” (Romanian quote from the article - Radu Bufanu a confirmat faptul ca initial a fost publicat un asemenea anunt, dar ca ulterior el ar fi fost retras, tocmai pentru a evita neclaritatile pe tema respectiva).  The Contract of Cession of Credit signed on December 13th, 2003 by Radu Bufanu’s manager, Mr. Emilian Radu contradicts Mr. Bufanu’s recollection of past events!

 

- in the article published in “Ziua” on June 23rd, 2003 (http://www.oocities.org/pwcromania/ziua.html and the English translation here http://www.oocities.org/pwcromania/ziuae.html), the Director of the Liquidation Practice of PwC Romania, Mrs. Speranta Munteanu declares “This did not represent in any way an attempt to deny the restitution of the house, but implied the careful verification of the request and the claims of the alleged heirs in order to avoid a fraud targeting COMTIM”.   Only in February 2003, PwC started claiming that it does not have sufficient proof relative to our right as heirs of Eugen Klein.  At that date, PwC had already sold the house to Agrotorvis more than 14 months earlier as shown in the Contract of Cession of Credit.  Although it is highly improbable that the Director of the Liquidation Practice was unaware of the contract signed by a Senior PwC Partner, Mr. Emilian Radu, at the time when she made the above statement to the newspaper, Mrs. Munteanu adds credibility to her lie by stating that “all the inquiries of the international offices of PwC had concluded that the Romanian office acted in sync with the legal norms relative to bankruptcies and the activity of consultants in reorganization and liquidation".

 

It is obvious from the above, that the Romanian office is using your flawed investigations to draw further legitimacy for their illegal actions surrounding the house that I claim.  However, these lies issued by PWC’s Romanian office just add more content to my accusations and to my supporting proof.   It also undermines the initial goodwill and perception that surrounded the PwC name in Romania something that your office should care more about.

 

In light of the recent developments and the official investigations opened by the Romanian prosecutors in the liquidation of Comtim, I intend to present in seven days from the date of this communication a complete file of the PwC dealings, as the liquidator of COMTIM, in the case of the house that I claim under the Romanian restitution law.  At that date, I will request an official investigation in the role of PricewaterhouseCoopers in the illegal sale of my house to the Italian investor and I will bring as proof my numerous communications to the US, UK, Canadian and Romanian offices pointing out that PwC has condoned and endorsed the actions of Mr. Bufanu, Mr. Radu and Mrs. Munteanu.

 

As such, I invite you again to contact me, without delay, in this matter with the intent to finding a quick solution.

Best regards,

 

 

Eugen Szekely

Ottawa, Canada

www.pwcromania.com