Dinu Patriciu, the harshest sentence

Businessman Dinu Patriciu (aged 64) died yesterday in a clinic in London, after having suffered for a long time due to an unforgiving disease. According to a press release sent by the members of his family, Dinu Patriciu "died due to a lung infection, because of which he had been hospitalized in the last few days". The funeral of Dinu Patriciu "will only be attended by the family". "Through this avenue of communication, the family calls for his last wish to be honored, and urges people show respect and put a stop to the controversies, lack of decency and hostility that he has been subjected to in the last few years of life and suffering".

Dinu Patriciu was one of the most controversial businesspeople and media moguls in Romania. In 2007 he was designated the richest Romanian, with an estimated fortune of more than 3 billion Euros at the time.

Lately, Patriciu's fortune had shrunk dramatically, to about 250 million Euros in 2013. His most resounding business failures of the last few years include the "Mic.ro" neighborhood stores, several publications (including Adevărul) and the network of sports betting agencies "Bet Café Arena", which is still showing significant losses.

Near the end of his life, the businesses of Dinu Patriciu had accumulated debts exceeding 100 million Euros.

Dinu Patriciu did not do so well in his personal life either. In February last year, Dinu Patriciu filed for divorce in his marriage with Dana Patriciu, with the court of the 1st District of Bucharest. After 14 hearings, the lawsuit was moved to Buftea, while the division of the property was being tried in the court of the 1st District of Bucharest, as Dana Patriciu had asked for half of her husband's fortune, claiming that the judgment of her husband had become impaired and that he had sold several assets.

The Patriciu spouses had been married since 1994.

• A founding member of the PNL, Patriciu later caused its split

In the first year after the revolution of 1989, Dinu Patriciu would become one of the founding members of the National Liberal Party (PNL), and in 1992, he was elected as deputy for the County of Timiş on the lists of the National Liberal Party.

Together with Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, Viorel Cataramă and Horia Rusu, the businessman caused the split of the National Liberal Party in the summer of 1990, creating PNL-Aripa Tânără (PNL-AT), which he was elected to lead.

During the next legislature, between 1992 and 1996, Patriciu became a deputy of Dâmboviţa on the lists of the Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR), and in 1993 he turned PNL-AT into PL 93, under the banner of which he ran for mayor of Bucharest in 1996.

Two years after the local elections, PL 93 merged with PNL.

Patriciu was again elected as deputy which he served as between 2000-2004, but this time as representative of the county of Prahova.

Dinu Patriciu resigned from the Romanian parliament in 2003 and retired from politics, dedicating himself to business.

• The "Rompetrol" case is still on trial

In 1998, the year of the reunification of PL 93 with PNL, Patriciu bought "Rompetrol", and three years later he became its CEO.

In 1999, "Rompetrol" acquired the "Vega" refinery, a transaction which was followed later (2000 and 2001) by the acquisition of "Petros SA" and "Petromidia SA".

In 2002, the businessman signed one of the most complex partnerships on the Romanian energy market, with the Austrians of "OMV", a significant player in the sector.

Five years after "Rompetrol" signed the partnership with "OMV", Dinu Patriciu sold 75% of the shares of "Rompetrol Holding" to "KazMunayGaz", a group from Kazakhstan, for about 2 billion Euros, which made him one of the richest Romanian businesspeople.

The "Rompetrol" deal brought Dinu Patriciu to the attention of the prosecutors in 2005, and prosecution began in March of the same year.

In the autumn of 2006, Dinu Patriciu, together with other 11 defendants (including Sorin Pantiş and Sorin Roşca Stănescu), was indicted for embezzlement, money laundering, association for committing offenses, manipulation of the stock market through transactions or trading orders, disclosure of insider information, and initiation or creation of an organized crime faction.

According to the case, in his position of administrator of "SC Rompetrol SA", between September 1999 and November 2001, Patriciu allegedly appropriated 85 million dollars resulting from the EPSA Agreement, amount which according to the law was owed to the legal provisions in effect. The documents specify that he tried to conceal the trail of that money by signing agreements of debt assignment, loan and novation (ed. note: the act of replacing an obligation to perform with a new obligation) concluded between the companies of the "Rompetrol" group.

Patriciu was also charged of having organized and coordinated the operations for the trading of the shares issued by "SC Rompetrol Rafinare SA", in order to influence and keep the opening and trading price at an artificially set level of 116 lei per share on April 7th, 2004, a price which assured the sale of 1 billion shares by "SC Rompetrol SA" to "Saltville Ltd".

On August 28th, 2012, Dinu Patriciu was acquitted in that case by the Court of Bucharest, which caused the prosecutors to appeal the ruling.

After several postponements, the next hearing of the case is approximately two weeks from now, on September 2nd.

Once the court acknowledges the death of Dinu Patriciu, it will subpoena and bring the former heirs of the former businessman as parties in the case.

If the defendants are found guilty in this lawsuit, the heirs would be forced to pay any potential damages.

• The war lost with Traian Băsescu

Dinu Patriciu declared "war" on president Traian Băsescu in 2005, as he was convinced that the president was behind the "Rompetrol" case, due to which Patriciu spent one night in jail.

The fight between the two reached a climax in 2009, during the presidential campaign, when, using his media influence (Patriciu owned several major newspapers, having bought "Adevărul Holding" in 2006), Patriciu accused the president of having hit a child during the previous presidential campaign, in 2004. On the next evening, the pictures in question, presented by the "Gardianul" newspaper, were broadcasted on every TV channel, and Traian Băsescu filed a lawsuit against Patriciu.

In spring 2013, a final ruling was rendered by which Patriciu lost the case filed against him by Traian Băsescu. In the argumentation for its ruling, the court stated that Dinu Patriciu harmed the president's right to honor and reputation through his claims that Băsescu had hit a child, even though it admitted in the same argumentation that Băsescu had indeed shoved the child.