Astra Asigurari was declared bankrupt by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) on Wednesday.
“According to the conclusions of a report of KPMG, Astra’s special administrator, the three conditions that define insolvency law are fulfilled,” ASF’s head, Misu Negritoiu announced in a press conference. This although he said last month in an interview for HotNews.ro that there are very good chances so that Astra will not go bankrupt considering that there are international investors in taking over the company.
Thus, the special recovery procedure ends and the operating authorization of the company will be withdrawn.
The third insurer on the local market needed an investor to bring RON 425 million on capital for the company to operate.
The date by which an interested investor should have had to appear expired last week, on August 19.
Following this decision, the company’s insured persons come under the protection of Policyholders Guarantee Fund (FGA).
The value of Astra Asigurari damages reaches to RON 650 million, the impact calculated by ASF amounting to RON 700 million, while the FGA has availabilities of RON 1 billion, covering Astra’s necessary. Astra Asigurari has 1.8 million policyholders, with 2.5 million valid insurance policies. The limit of damages to which a person is entitled is RON 450,000.
“The next step we have to make so that the FGA to go into action is to show the application for bankruptcy and to obtain the court decision. FGA kicks off only after the insurer is officially entering bankruptcy,” Negritoiu said. He pointed out that the court could rule within 10-20 days on the company’s bankruptcy.
Following ASF’s decision to withdraw Astra’s special administration, the insurer management will be taken over until the declaring bankruptcy by the existing board before establishing special management mandate.
Negritoiu believes that Astra got to this point because of shareholders’ greed who have kept too much to the “dowry” and failed to attract an investor. He refused to say the amount requested for Astra.
According to him, the investors with who there have been carried out the most advanced talks to enter in Astra shareholding were Ergo (Germany), PZU (Poland) and Fossum Group (Portugal).
PM Victor Ponta has not missed to comment on this topic. He wrote on Facebook that “ASF broke the bubble of corruption and fraud at Astra Asigurari, after in 2013, the Government, ASF and the central bank have notified the criminal authorities on the incredible frauds made by Dan Adamescu, but the political and media protection which he has bought over the years has been extremely effective.” He continued: “I refuse to accept that for RON 500 million fraud after the largest insurance company in Romania was intentionally bankrupt, no one will be held responsible for that again!!!”