MONEY LAUNDERING AT VERESPATAK?

The investors of the goldmine at Verespatak (Romania) are billionaire entrepreneurs affected in money laundering and drug affairs who are in connection with the top Romanian leadership, among them with Premier Adrian Nastase and Ion Iliescu, president – the association of independent journalists in Romania claims.

Ovidiu Tender, billionnaire entrepreneur who is one of the suspects of the greatest money laundering scandals in recent years, is also one of the heads of a Canadian company which starts a gold mine investment at Verespatak which threatens the region with an ecological disaster. The investment can be started if the European Union closes the environment protection chapter of the accession of Romania. According to the Association of Independent Fact-Finding Journalists in Romania (CRIJ) Ovidiu Tender is a member of the management of Gabriel Resources, the builder of the gold mine, and he is in direct connection with Premier Nastase, while the daily Romania Libera says Tender had supported actively Ion Iliescu. Mr Nastase has claimed recently he does not support the gold mine investment but he has not made any measures against the project.

Translated by Péter Szentmihályi Szabó