Head of Romanian brokerage firm goes missing

Newsroom 12/10/2012 | 12:25

Cristian Sima, a stock exchange investor and former head of the Sibiu Stock Exchange (SIBEX), has gone missing according to media reports, and clients of his brokerage, part of WBS Holding, allege their investments have vanished.

The stock exchange regulator CNVM started an investigation last week at the HQ of WBS Romania. Officials want to check the integrity of customer accounts. The CNVM recommended clients file complaints against WBS Romania if they think they have lost money. It added that WBS Holding was not regulated locally and not authorized to act in the Romanian capital market. The potential relationship between WBS Holding and WBS Romania will also be investigated.

The police have also started an investigation after media reports that Sima hadn’t been contactable since last month. However, no missing person’s report had been filed with the police by the Sima family or any other party.

Economist Daniel Daianu, a former finance minister, is among the customers of the brokerage firm that is part of WBS Holding. “I am not among those that lost money at WBS, but among those who had his money lost for him,” said Daianu, quoted by Agerpres.

Daianu said his funds were in a general account abroad, and it was difficult to check their status. He had gone to the headquarters of the brokerage firm to verify the status of his account, but received no answer and was told that Sima was not contactable.