"Stolo"-the grave-digger of the "Rolast" Tradin Company of Piteşti?!

„Stolo”- the grave-digger of the Rolast Trading Company of Piteşti?! The former World Bank Senior Economist, candidate for presidency of Romania and nominated for the position as Prime-Minister, suspected of having caused the bankruptcy of Rolast of Piteşti

If the persons responsible for the bankruptcy of the Aro and Grulen trading companies of Câmpulung are known, namely Nicolae Vacăroiu, Ovidiu Muşetescu, Constantin Nicolescu and the former controlling shareholder, the Cuban American John Perez, the “grave-digger” of the Rolast company of Piteşti remained in the dark for more than a year. It was only these last days that some of the former managers, employees and trade union leaders decided to come forward and disclose information.

President of RAEF – a well-intended person assigned to bring the rubber industry in Romania to bankruptcy
In 2005, the “Americans” of RAEF bought the controlling block of shares. But at the forefront of the Fund of the Romanian American Enterprise Foundation (RAEF) John Kliper could be found acting in his capacity as President; while with the Rolast company of Piteşti he proved to be a …“well-intended” Romanian American! This was due to the fact that in less than two years he managed to bring to bankruptcy the most modern rubber item manufacturing plant in South-eastern Europe. According to a RAEF booklet disseminated by the Romanian American Kliper, the entire economic philosophy of the fund laid in dividing the trading companies where RAEF was a controlling shareholder so that they were easier brought to bankruptcy and then sold or bought for meagre prices. John Kliper acted in the same way with the Rolast company of Piteşti. He received an unexpected help from the former Chief Executive Officer of Rolast, Constantin Divan, who reported to the American party only half of the yielded production. The other half was sold to free-rider companies that gravitated around Rolast and the amounts obtained were collected by Mr. Divan. Using the amounts obtained from the rubber production not reported to the “Americans,” Constantin Divan opened his own business in the rubber field in Bascov area and bought the mansion that had belonged to Adrian Mutu.

“Stolo” – financial adviser of Tofan Group and RAEF, shareholder of Rolast
After returning from the World Bank, where he had acted as Senior Economist for years, the former liberal Teodor Stolojan became the most well paid financial adviser of Tofan Group and of the Romanian American Enterprise Foundation (RAEF) fund. Therefore, between the Rolast company of Piteşti (where the former Prime-Minister was shareholder through his descendants) and RAEF (controlling shareholder of Rolast), where Stolo acted also as member of the Board of Directors, in addition to being the financial adviser thereof, and Tofan Group, where the same presidential adviser acted as financial adviser there has been a more than direct link for all these last years. Moreover, in order to be sure that his decisions were ad literam enforced, he brought Dragoş Nicolescu inside the Rolast company: he was his most trusted man of RAEF and Tofan Group. Consequently, Dragoş Nicolescu, “advised” by Kliper and Stolojan and helped from within the Rolast company by the people of Constantin Divan, managed in record time to bring to pieces an activity that had been profitable for over 30 years. We must add that Teodor Stolojan had been a member of the Board of Directors of RAEF since 2000, when the above-mentioned funds first entered Romania. After less than tow years RAEF sold the Rolast company to the Cypriotes of Naniero Invest LMT. The sale of Rolast to Raniero took place exactly in the period when Teodor Stolojan was both a member of the Board of Directors of RAEF, as well as financial adviser of the fund. Immediately after the purchase of Rolast for the amount of 11 million euros, the Cypriotes of Naniero Invest changed its objects, thus from the largest manufacturer of rubber technical items the company became a mere real estate business. First, they dismissed almost 1200 employees. Subsequently they dismantled the premises and the equipment was sold to the former free-rider companies, such as the one belonging to the former Chief Executive Officer Divan, or sold as scrap. In the location where of the former Rolast company used to be, the Cypriotes originally intended to build a residential mansion neighbourhood and to rent the administrative pavilion to companies that wanted to open business offices, representative offices etc. But meanwhile, the land corresponding to the Rolast Trading Company and having an area of over 60 hectares was bought from the Cypriotes by Ion Ion Ţiriac, the little prince-son of the businessman Ion Ţiriac. Therefore, Ţiriac Junior concluded one of the worst short and medium-term deals because almost the entire land under the former Rolast is polluted by toxic products, from oils and lead oxides to carbon, substances used in the technological process during more than 30 years of operation. According to experts, the rehabilitation of the 60 hectares of land entails expenses in excess of 3 million RON / hectare for 30-40 years.

What do the persons concerned say?
*-The former leader of the CSDR (Democratic Trade Union Confederation of Romania), Nicolae Creţu: “Teodor Stolojan played a significant role within Rolast in his capacity as member of the Board of Directors of the American fund that bought the rubber plant. His visits to Rolast during the period of the 2004 electoral campaign and his subsequent visits show his direct interest in the fate of the plant.”
*-The former Chief Executive Officer of Rolast, Dragoş Nicolescu: ”The Stock Exchange and certain information in the media state as a certain fact Teodor Stolojan’s involvement in the management of Rolast. They know him to have been a member of the Board of Directors of the America investment fund and a close acquaintance of the Americans employed with the fund. I worked as his subordinated within the Tofan Group. Irrespective of what he may have done for Rolast, the sale of the plant by the Americans and the change of the objects thereof were onerously carried out. While I was employed by Rolast I had little contact with Mr. Stolojan, which occurred only during his political visits to the plant.”
*-Rolast was built in the’70-’72 period using loans granted to Ceauşescu by the International Monetary Fund and was commissioned in 1972. The most popular items manufactured by Rolast were the conveyer belts used in the mining industry, the high, average and low pressure hoses, the gaskets for the vehicle building industry, namely for Dacia and Oltcit, as well as the rubber insertion fabric for manufacturing light boats for army and civil protection service against disasters, used by soldiers during floods. The Rolast products used to be exported to over 80 countries on five continents.
Ştefan Dumitru Afrimescu