​Transelectrica has announced to shareholders that Luisa Popescu, a former member of the company’s supervisory board, has won the dispute at the Arbitration Center in Vienna. The company is obliged to pay the amount of 792,132 lei (main), which is compensation based on the assignment agreement, plus 11,759 lei and 7,011 euros as arbitration costs. Luisa Popescu is not the first member of the supervisory board to win open lawsuits from the Arbitration Center in Vienna, forcing the company to pay very large compensations.

Luiza Popescu was dismissed from her post in 2021, three years before her term was due to expire. Several former executives are in the same situation. Their removal from positions was carried out for political reasons.

Who are the former bosses who currently won at Transelectrica

In August, Ciprian Constantin Dumitru, a former member of the supervisory board recalled in 2021, won the Arbitration Center in Vienna, forcing the company to pay a total of almost 2 million lei. He is not the only one who won at Transelectrica.

In December 2022, Oleg Burlaku, a former member of the supervisory board, won, obliging the company to pay the sum of 792,132 lei (the main amount), to which additional and court costs are added. Following Burlak’s success, other former Transelectrica executives filed arbitration claims with the Vienna Arbitration Center. They are Adrian Goycea, former president of the Supervisory Board, Ciprian Constantin Dumitru, Luisa Popescu, former members of the Supervisory Board, and Catalin Nitsu, former member of the Directorate. The amounts they are asking for are about 3 million lei. They were all expelled long before the end of the 4-year term.

In April 2021, Cătălin Nițu, a former directorate member, won an amount of 559,164 lei (principal amount), plus accessories and court costs. Cătălin Nițu was not satisfied with this and again submitted Transelectrica to the Vienna Arbitration Center, this time demanding 2.2 million lei.

How Translectrica made political change

On June 22, 2021, the General Secretariat of the Government (SGG), as the majority shareholder, decided to change the members of the Supervisory Board of Transelectrica without giving reasons. In essence, the seven members of the COP, who had full four-year mandates until September 2024, were recalled, replaced by five temporary members with mandates of 4 months, valid only until October 22, 2021.

Three days after the dismissal of the executives, on June 23, 2021, the new composition of the Board recalled the members of the Board of Directors of the Company, although they had the authority until November 2024, replacing them with temporary acting duties. Sources on the ground said at the time that the replacements were politically motivated. The government at the time was controlled by Florin Sitsu and his associates, and all those dismissed were appointed to Orbán’s government. Most of the managers of Transelectrica were dismissed due to the change of the Government, although, in theory, the legislation on corporate governance should prevent such practice, appointments based on political criteria in state-owned companies.

Photo source: Andriy Popov / Panthermedia / Profimedia