On November 15, the Supreme Court of Cassation upheld Hidroelectrica’s appeal and recognized the legality of the management selection procedure that took place in 2019, Hidroelectrica reports. The lawsuit was filed by the former CFO of Petronel Chiriac in the context of Hidroelectrica’s listing on the stock exchange, which could block the company’s operations. The actions in the court were aimed at stopping the listing and putting pressure on the selection procedure for new management, which has just ended, Hidroelectrica claims.

The court found against the entire leadership of 2019-2023.

Pressure on the selection of managers

“The Directorate of Hydroelectricity welcomes the decision of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, which brings clarity to this case, and also expresses its joy that these accusations, made by people whose interests are at least questionable, especially that they seemed to be aimed at stopping the largest IPO, ever held on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, as well as putting pressure on the new management selection procedure held this year,” Hidroelectrica said in a press release.

As of November 7, 2023, Hidroelectrica has a new management as a result of a recent professional management selection process: the new team consists of Karoli Borbeli – Executive General Director “CEO”, Bohdan-Nicolae Badea, Chief Investment Officer – “CIO”, Radu-Ioan Constantin , Chief Administrative Officer – “CAO”, Marian Fetita, Chief Financial Officer – “CFO”, Ianaș Rădoi, Chief Operating Officer – “COO”.

He wanted to become the director of Hydroelectricity after suing the company

Petronel Chiriac, the one who litigated Hidroelectrica, was on the list of candidates for the new management, but did not get any position. Petronel Chiriac served as executive director in 2019 but was recalled. He appealed this decision and won the court of first instance/

On November 15, 2023, the Supreme Court accepted the appeal filed by Hidroelectrica against decision No. 316/2013 of March 1 ac in the process of annulment of the selection procedure of the company’s Board of Directors, which took place in 2019. Thus, through the final decision, both the legality and the correctness of the Hidroelectrica management selection procedure are verified in accordance with GEO no. 109/2011 on the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises, the previous decisions of the Bucharest Court of Appeal were annulled and the case was referred to the same court for retrial under the terms of the ICCJ.

And the last selection procedure of the directorate was riddled with scandals

The new directorate was appointed after a complex selection procedure, sprinkled with scandals and political pressure. HotNews.ro has written a lot about political interference in the qualification process of candidates from Hidroelectrica.

According to HotNews.ro, the selection procedure for Hidroelektrica Directorate members was deadlocked, as some of the politically supported individuals did not make it to the short lists. Surprisingly, some of the political favorites did not make it to the shortlists, and specialists from the company, not affiliated with any party, received higher scores.

Interviews with those shortlisted according to the calendar were supposed to take place on October 17-20, but did not take place. Instead, the Ministry of Energy sent the Control Body to identify violations in the candidate qualification procedure. If violations are detected, the procedure can be resumed, which will benefit those who do not meet the requirements.

According to HotNews.ro, there has been pressure at the political level to widen the shortlists so that those who have been rejected can also fit in, so that they can get to the interview stage, where twists and turns can still happen. Given that the rules could not be changed during the game, the option of resuming the selection procedure was considered.