Reactions after the ASF "coup" at Astra

Opening a financial recovery procedure at Astra Asigurari is a “mafia strike” on behalf of the Financial Surveillance Authority and it will generate an international shock wave, according to Dan Adamescu, Astra’s major shareholder, writes MEDIAFAX.

“Astra is the crown jewel of the insurance industry and not just in Romania, but in Eastern Europe. Astra is my pride and joy. What happened today [Tuesday, February 18] at ASF is inconceivable. Astra has 4.6 million clients. To come out with blind cynicism like Rusanu and Moldoveanu, the two artisans behind this mafia strike, is unbelievable” Adamescu commented at a press conference.

Adamescu said he was “shocked” by the decision and that the ASF broke its own rules in terms of the steps that should be taken if an insurer is having issues.

“Rusanu doesn’t know anything about insurance, he doesn’t speak any foreign languages. Moldoveanu doesn’t know much, you should look at his policies and don’t forget he started out in PRM when he became part of the CSA. (…) They say we are under-claiming and we should bring in capital. We suggested a capital raise of about RON 140 million, but we haven’t received any answers. This decision entails a danger of national standards. Astra’s leadership will be decapitated. KPMG needs months to understand Astra’s situation. They planted a bomb, given that the market is in dire need of discretion and professionalism. Me an the Astra leadership are shocked and we can’t fathom how this happened. It has never been the case in any part of the world for a regulatory authority to break its own rules like this”, according to Adamescu.

Adamescu went on to say that if Astra is shaken, then the whole market will suffer.

“If the market leader won’t pay, it is up to the rest of the market to pay. Rusanu, Moldoveanu and the ASF have no idea how big the disaster will be. Nobody know how our partners will react”.

Another reaction came from Daniel Tudor, former CSA president and ASF vicepresident. He argues that Astra Asigurari din’t follow ASF’s guidelines, which is the root of the current scnadal.

“In the 6 month that I led the Surveillance Commission for Insurance, Astra was submitted to a very thorough background check which lasted approximately five months. The conclusions were forwarded to the CSA board which offered a plan of measures for Astra to resolve the issues we detected. This plan was supposed to come to fruition on December 31, 2013. In case it didn’t, we agreed to enforce a special administration for the firm”, Tudor explained in a press release picked up by Mediafax.

After the ASF was established, all supervisory activities for the three industries under the institution’s watch were taken over by a new direction which answered directly to Dan Radu Rusanu.

“As vicepresident of the ASF I requested Rusanu to run several checks on insurance firms, among them Astra Asigurari. These checks were supposed to look into how the company resolves insurance claims and how it hands out damages. Not all my inspections were authorized, but Astra Asigurari underwent a second headquarter check in less then a year, at a time when the plan of measures was supposed to be in effect”, Tudor went on.

The results of this second background check are not known to Daniel Tudor, since he quit his position as vice president in October 2013.

“As such, the steps taken today by the ASF are the direct result of the CSA’s actions and Astra’s refusal to follow the plan set out by then CSA board. Furthermore, Astra’s “special management” does not represent of form of sanction under the law of Insurance but rather an administrative measure”, Tudor concluded.

Diana Petrescu

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