Sobolewski's madness

We are left with one expression - "You've stooped to Sobolewski's level?!" - because the former CEO of the BSE has become a proverbial figure through his unprecedented scandal which he sparked off yesterday, after the end of his term, claiming that he continued to be the CEO of the BSE, even though the Board of the Exchange has not renewed his contract.

It beggars belief: the BSE has posted a current report of the BSE, in which Ludwik Sobolewski, as a signatory of the Report, politely speaks about "Mr. Ludwik Sobolewski", whose mandate has not been extended by the Board of the Exchange, and his mandate remains in effect.

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Current report of the BSE

"The Bucharest Stock Exchange SA (hereinafter called "the Company" or the BSE) informs that on August 21st, 2017 will expire the mandate contract of the CEO of the BSE, Mr. Ludwik Sobolewski. The BSE also informs that the mandate of Mr. Ludwik Sobolewski remains in effect, according to and based on the decision of the Board of the Exchange no 79/July 1st, 2013 (which was the basis for the validation of the Financial Oversight Authority through the decision no. 616/August 21st, 2013). The terms and conditions pertaining to the fulfillment of the mandate will be defined, or another decision will be made by the Board of the Exchange on the matter.

< The decision concerning the extension of the mandate contract of the CEO was not made in the meeting of the Board of Directors, summoned for August 18th, 2017, due to lack of quorum". (Signed: Ludwik Sobolewski)

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The report caused confusion.

Some more emotional journalists from a financial newspaper were quick to write that Sobolewski remains CEO.

More Mai versată, even though it is a partner of the BSE, Agerpres was confined to writing: "The Board of the BSE did not extend the CEO contract of Ludwik Sobolewski, due to lack of quorum".

At that time, I wrote that the Current Report of the BSE represented market abuse and that normally, the BSE stock should be suspended from trading, until the situation is clarified, a statement which I posted on the website of BURSA.ro.

Simultaneously, some brokers noted the same thing and asked BSE president Lucian Anghel to suspend trading in the stock.

But he didn't.

From that moment on, a man named Florin Cepraga (who Sobolewski runs around a stadium with and while huffing, also gives him an interview in which he displays his incompetence when it comes to warrants), who started sending "explicative" emails to newspapers:

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"According to the current report of the BSE, the mandate of Ludwik Sobolewski remains in effect. What has expired is the mandate agreement, not the contract itself. The mandate and the contract, the one which defines the terms for the execution of the mandate, are not one and the same".

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Instead of going away, the confusion grows - "The mandate and the contract are not the same thing"!

Cepraga talked to us, but did not send us anything in writing (he lied to us that he did not send anything in writing to anybody) and did not agree to us quoting him, which is something we would have complied with, had we not gotten his email from another newspaper.

That email he sent to others, but dared not send to us, is a mere collection of aberrations.

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Art. 2009 of the New Civil Code shows that "The mandate is the contract whereby one party, called agent, commits to take one or more legal actions on behalf of the other parties, called principal", according to legeaz.net.

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The mandate is the contract.

Period.

In other words, they are one and the same, not two distinct things, like Cepraga .

On the BURSA.ro website, one reader (who calls himself "Radu Mischie") presents his own interpretation:

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11. Clarifications

(message sent by Radu Mischie on August 21st, 2017, 16:09)

After reading the article, then the current report of the BSE, I said I would go and have a look at the Trade Registry. Paid 8 lei out of my own pocket to get an electronic statement (ed. note: concerning the BSE).

And what the records at the Trade Registry show is that Mr. Sobolewski is the CEO of the BSE indefinitely. Anybody who wants to see those records leave their email here and I will send them to them.

A few explanations, because I have a bit of legal expertise:

- the Pole is recorded as CEO for an indefinite period of time - that is at the trade registry

- essentially, for that reason, he is still in office (don't flame me, I am just telling you how this gets interpreted)

- in order for him not to be CEO, he needs to be dismissed by the Board of Directors of the BSE

- I've heard (but haven't seen that with my own eyes), that Sobolewski also has a mandate contract, which has expired today. And that said contract described his rights, obligations, salary for the four years since his appointment until today

- at this time, Sobolewski is a CEO in office, but without a mandate contract

- it is not a very pleasant situation and it rather debatable on whether it is legal or not (this would be a case of differing opinions depending on which law firm you ask)

- essentially, from this moment on, Sobolewski is an empty shell CEO (without a contract, he shouldn't be getting a salary either - or at least not the salary stipulated in his contract)

- it is just as hard for the Board to dismiss him, but - since his mandate has not expired at the Trade Registry, the board needs to present some reasons for him to dismiss him. Otherwise, the Pole can ask for damages for a hasty dismissal. And he could find a judge that would pay him at least half of his current salary as compensation.

Essentially, neither party has a good position, but neither of them can take any radical action either.

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As can be seen, Sobolewski has managed to fool plenty of people.

This trick apparently comes from law firm PeliFilip, which specializes in making absurd claims for the service of Sobolewski, because it is the same one that claimed that the board members who were absent from a meeting of the Board of Directors, were in fact present.

The representatives of PeliFilip have not given their point of view in that regard.

But the law firm, the poster who calls themselves "Radu Mischie" and Ludwik Sobolewski have forgotten to read the New Civil Code, which states:

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CHAPTER IX

Mandate agreement

SECTION 2

Mandate with representation

Art. 2015

Duration of the mandate

Unless the parties have stipulated a duration, the mandate agreement ends three years after its conclusion.

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The parties have stipulated 48 months for the duration of the mandate (which is the same as the contract).

Both the contract, as well as the mandate (God!, that wording is so insane, but I'm just using it for the benefit of Sobolewski's supporters) have expired.

Some say it has expired as early as Sunday.

Just to get out of the vortex of insanity, I want to remind the following: it was the board of the Exchange that proposed the renewal of Sobolewski's mandate agreement in the June 20 meeting; the one who turned it down was Ludwik Sobolewski - he promised he would present the reasons behind his refusal in less than one week afterwards, but he never did.

This is the reason why the ulterior meetings of the Board never met the quorum in the following five meetings, which was needed for the item on the agenda of making a decision concerning the mandate of Sobolewski.

Essentially, Sobolewski fired himself.

If his mandate has expired since Sunday, that means that the Current Report of the BSE, posted by the BSE, was signed by just a random individual, named Ludwik Sobolewski, who has no role within the BSE.

At any rate, even if he still had been BSE CEO on the date that report was published, its signatory also bears a criminal responsibility.

Yesterday, at noon, the Financial Oversight Authority asked each member of the Board of the BSE to state whether they had been aware of that current report, of the BSE and whether they had approved it.

Lucian Anghel said that he had approved it on Friday.

Apparently Sobolewski will drag a few other people with him...

But not to Poland.