ASF's maneuvers cause interest in the European Parliament

A German MEP asks for an investigation to determine what is happening in the insurance market in our country, given that the European Commission refused access to members of the European Parliament to a report related to the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) and an alleged harassment campaign of Euroins, according to an article last week in The European Conservative.

In the material entitled "Exclusive: Von der Leyen's brother, a betting giant from the United States and the Romanian insurance scandal", it is shown that the ASF granted the license for the sale of car insurance in our country to a company managed by the brother of the President of the European Commission, shortly after withdrawing the operating license of the Euroins Romania company.

Thus, Eazy Asigurări - a subsidiary of Superbet, entity whose president is, since February this year, the brother of Ursula Von der Leyen, would benefit from a significant gap left in the insurance market in our country following the departure of Euroins, according to The European Conservative.

• Assen Christov, President of Eurohold: "People from ASF tried to steal our business"

Also last week, a day before the publication of the mentioned article, in an interview published by the BURSA newspaper, Assen Christov, the president of Eurohold, the group that owned Euroins Romania, accused people from the ASF of trying to steal the business from our country of Euroins.

Also, Christov mentioned that "he will not be surprised" if the new insurance company licensed to operate in our country will try to obtain the policy portfolio of Euroins Romania for nothing.

Assen Christov declared: "A few days ago, a new insurance company was licensed in Romania (n.r. Eazy Asigurări). It is very strange that ASF has done this in a very short time. I tried to find out more about this company, I looked up their website. Nothing. I think it is a very interesting investigative case for journalists. On the other hand, at the same time they extended the validity of our policies. So, I will not be surprised if this new insurance company will try to get the portfolio (n.r. that belonged to Euroins Romania) from the Guarantee Fund, which contains around 1.3 - 1.4 million policies. Their average validity will be one and a half to two months, after which they will expire. I say average because after one year all policies expire. We are not far from March 17, but some policies will expire in October, November. So, I would not be surprised if this insurance company will go to the ASF and try to get the portfolio for one euro, and after that renew all the policies and take 10% or 15% of the market for nothing. If this happens, it will really be confirmed that they tried to steal the business from the company that has been working in your market for more than 17 years, that is Euroins Romania".

• The European Conservative: "Von der Leyen's brother, a betting giant from the United States and the Romanian insurance scandal"

The granting of the license for the sale of car insurance in our country to a company managed by the brother of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, raises questions in Brussels, it is mentioned in the article published on September 27 by The European Conservative.

According to the cited publication, this comes just a few weeks after the Commission refused access to members of the European Parliament to an official report related to certain irregularities regarding the regulator of the insurance market in Romania and an alleged campaign of harassment of a company. German MEP Lars Peter Berg, one of those who expressed concern about the Commission's handling of the issue, said in a commentary for The European Conservative: "Given the evasive answers to parliamentary questions, I wonder whether it is time for an independent investigation to establish exactly what is happening in Romania and how capable the Commission is of overseeing the industry."

According to the mentioned publication, the receipt of the license to sell car insurance by Eazy Asigurări - a subsidiary of the gaming giant Superbet - from the Financial Supervision Authority (ASF), has shocked industry experts. Superbet, one of Europe's largest online gambling consortiums specializing in betting, has an annual turnover of 1.1 billion dollars. In February this year, the company announced the appointment of Hans-Holger Albrecht, Ursula von der Leyen's brother, as chairman of the consortium, along with a plan for global expansion.

Superbet is financially supported by the American asset management firm Blackstone, and its entry into the Romanian insurance market comes after years of financial and political scandals, which culminated in the forced exit of Euroins, one of the largest insurance companies, from the country, who claims to have been subjected to a harassment campaign by the ASF, writes The European Conservative.

• "A company run by von der Leyen's brother can benefit from a significant gap in the market left by the departure of Euroins", writes The European Conservative

According to the mentioned source, in March of this year, the Authority withdrew the operating license of Euroins due to a capital deficit of 400 million euros, a fact disputed not only by the company but also by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). by the Bulgarian regulatory authorities and an independent auditor, all of whom maintained that the company was solvent. In recent years, the Romanian car insurance market has gone through intense turbulence, marked by the bankruptcy of four large companies and endemic links with organized crime and political corruption, according to The European Conservative.

Euroins claims that, despite political pressure, in 2019 it refused to buy the insurance company City Insurance (which has since gone bankrupt), triggering a four-year harassment campaign against it that culminated with the suspension of its operating license in February 2023. Although a report by the European Union's insurance market regulator, EIOPA, supported the ASF's position that Euroins was insolvent, the matter was complicated by the Commission's refusal to allow MEPs to is examining an uncensored report on the case, which has generated a series of parliamentary questions, according to the source.

The European Conservative writes that, AfD MEP Gunnar Beck considers the EU's attitude sufficiently opaque to send the matter to the European Ombudsman, directly invoking von der Leyen's brother's relationship with the insurance sector in Romania. In a statement, Beck condemns the potential repercussions on Romanian drivers who may be left without insurance both in the country and abroad, claiming that this case represents additional proof of Ursula von der Leyen's incompetence for the position she held in the Commission, according to The European Conservative.

According to the cited source, judging by the current situation, a company led by von der Leyen's brother would benefit from a significant gap left in the market by the departure of Euroins. Moreover, questions were repeatedly raised regarding the fact that Brussels turns a blind eye to corruption in Romania on the grounds that the Romanian government has a "relative Europhilia", writes The European Conservative.

In correspondence with the publication, Lars Patrick Berg described the revelations as "alarming", adding: "The replacement for Euroins, a European insurance company, appears to be an American-backed company with a questionable ethical record."

• Libertatea: "PSD will nominate the new president of ASF, according to sources from the governing coalition"

According to an article published on September 27 in Libertatea, Liviu Voinea is the favorite to take Nicu Marcu's place at the head of ASF.

The cited publication wrote that the PSD will nominate the new president of the Authority, according to some sources from the governing coalition, after the discussions held by the prime minister with the president of the PNL. Marcel Ciolacu wants the post to be filled by Romania's representative at the IMF, Liviu Voinea. He is to take the place of Nicu Marcu, during whose mandate the bankruptcies of two leaders in the RCA insurance market, City Insurance and Euroins, took place, resulting in billions of lei holes.

The information was confirmed for Libertatea even by the PSD president, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. "I see Liviu Voinea as very competent to occupy the position of president of the Financial Supervision Authority", Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu told Libertatea.

Marcel Ciolacu's option must also be discussed with the coalition partners, but the PNL does not have a veto right over the proposal from the PSD, but rather an informative role, according to the agreements between the two parties, according to the mentioned publication. Nicu Marcu's mandate as president of the Financial Supervisory Authority will end in November.