Page 150 - Carte Falimentul BIR

The International Bank of Religions started the year 1999 under particularly
favorable conditions.

The balance of investments in other banks and government securities was set at
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ROL 496.4 billion ROL on April 30 1999, at least 6 times more than on
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December 31 1998, when these were 78.3 billion ROL.

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On May 31 1999, only those BIR investments generated revenues of ROL 103.7
billion. The first months of 1999 showed a marked increase in the bank's liquidity.

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On May 17 1999, on a TV show, Mr. Ovidiu Grecea, head of the Bank's Asset
Recovery Agency (AVAB), at the time, in the presence of Adrian Vasilescu,
Advisor to the Governor of the BNR, referring to the debt takeover by AVAB

from state-owned banks (Bancorex, Agricultural Bank, etc.) launched the rumour
that the International Bank of Religions was in a "crisis situation", a fact that was
totally unrealistic. We mention that Mr. Adrian Vasilescu, who was present, did
not disapprove to Mr. Ovidiu Grecea.

The result of this rumour was that, as of the second day, BIR depositors exerted
pressure at the counters of the bank, demanding the withdrawal of deposits, ahead
of schedule.

In order to cope with these withdrawals and to provide the necessary liquidities,
BIR had to give up, also ahead of schedule, its large holdings in government
bonds and on the interbank market.

This mystification of the truth by Mr. Ovidiu Grecea meant for the bank a loss of
about ROL 120 billion.

BNR's complicity with Mr. Ovidiu Grecea is also confirmed by the refusal of the
BNR's management to publicly reject his falsely asserted claims.

In November 2002, former government adviser Fănel Păvălache, arrested for
corruption offenses, said:

"In August 1999, three friends and colleagues from the faculty, lawyers Arin
Stănescu, Călin Zamfirescu and Valeriu Stoica, the last, Minister of Justice, at
the time, conceived and the Government issued, the Government Emergency
Ordinance no. 79/1999 regarding the activity organization of the practitioners in
reorganization and liquidation, that was published in the Official Gazette no.
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421/31 of August 1999. Obviously, this order is countersigned by Valeriu Stoica,
Minister of Justice. The two lawyers set up the National Union of Practitioners
in Reorganization and Liquidation." .

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