* Coincidence or more thefts to be uncovered?
* For cause audits at the Central Depository and Actinvest, after the theft of shares
* Fines at "Alpha Finance" and "Carpatica Invest"
The private pensions division of the Financial Oversight Authority (ASF) has decided to prevent the private pension funds from trading shares, on Friday and today, in order to review their portfolios, after the BURSA newspaper was the absolute first to report on Thursday, that the head of the IFC, Ana Maria Mihăescu, saw EUR 200,000 worth of stocks stolen from her brokerage firm account.
The information from BURSA was subsequently reported by other newspapers.
Even though Ion Giurescu, the vice-president of the ASF for private pensions, makes a connection between the reporting of the theft in the press and the halting of trading at the pension funds, the vague explanations of the ASF leave room for interpretation.
Some sources claim that the surprise decision of the ASF has no connection to the case of Ana Maria Mihăescu, but give no other reason for it.
The communication department of the ASF insists that the measure is preventive, but does not explain what has caused the ASF to become so cautious all of a sudden.
"Yes, it is an unprecedented measure, of a preventive nature. The ASF, which has made this decision based on the law which governs its operation, wants to once again ensure that the pension funds are once again certain that their stock holdings exist in their portfolios", the representatives of the Authority have informed us.
They have also told us that, "according to the regulations, the shares in the portfolios of pension funds are held by custodian banks, which check everyday whether the stocks reported by the funds exist in their portfolios and certify daily whether the value reported by the fund is accurate".
So
