GEORGE BĂEŞU: "The accounts of the National Authority for the Restitution of Properties have been illegally frozen"

The accounts of the National Authority for the Restitution of Properties (ANRP) were frozen this week, Mr. George Băeşu, the president of the institution said. Thus, an assignee from Cluj has successfully garnished, for almost 2 million lei, the accounts of the ANRP, following a ruling of the Court of District 5 of Bucharest.

The president of the ANRP, George Băeşu told us yesterday that it is extremely worrisome how the money in the institution's accounts, which are intended to reach the rightful owners, are being taken away by assignees or by middlemen, without any legal basis.

He told us that, in the case of the assignee from Cluj, neither the former Central Commission for Determining the Compensations Owed (CCSD), nor the National Commission for the Compensation of Immovable Properties completed the administrative resolution procedure and they did not issue a compensation deed.

The titleholder of this case has asked in court to be issued a compensation deed, but the court denied his request, both in the first instance (2012), as well as in the appeal (2013), which is why the assignee took the case to another court, the one in Bucharest, which is where he won the trial. The ANRP official told us that the goal of the foreclosure is to receive a payment which would be double the amount which would be legally received based on the notary payment entitlements schedule set using the law no. 165/2013..

In order for the foreclosure to be accepted, the assignee used a decision rendered by former prime-minister Emil Boc in 2007, according to the ANRP.

George Băeşu said: "Under these circumstances, the ANRP will challenge the decision of the Court, going to the highest courts: the Superior Council of Magistracy, and the High Court of Cassation and Justice. Meanwhile, the money in the accounts in question are being taken away by the so-called legal owners, and this is harmful both for the state and for the people who are entitled by law to damages".

According to his statements, the compensation process should be supported "by everybody", starting with the judicial institutions and all the way to the central Authorities.

The National Authority for the Restitution of Properties is currently working on the issuing of the payment deeds for the compensation briefs which were approved prior to the issuing of the Law no. 165/2013.

According to the estimates made by the Government, the authorities still have to repay about 8 billion Euros in the accounts of the former owners whose properties were seized by the communist regime.

The law concerning the compensation of the former owners stipulates a points-based compensation system if the property can not be returned in kind. The owners will be able to use their points by bidding on some immovable properties from the national immovable property fund. The conversion of the points into money will be possible starting in 2014, in annual tranches of 14% of the total amount per year (with the last tranche to be 16%).