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Russia's LUKOIL begins oil refinery startup in Romania

LUKOIL's operation in Romania was halted by Romanian authorities

Lukoil headquarters in Moscow EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY

Lukoil headquarters in Moscow

© EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Russia’s LUKOIL company has begun the technological procedure to start a refinery in Romania after its operation was halted by Romanian authorities, a company source told TASS.

After the hearings over the company’s appeal on October 6, 2014, the arrest of the company’s bank accounts and commercial reserves was suspended, and LUKOIL began the procedure to start the Petrotel refinery, LUKOIL press secretary Vitaly Matushkin told TASS.

Earlier, a LUKoil representative confirmed to TASS that the Romanian authorities have ordered to suspend the operation of the company’s oil in the town of Ploiesti. Russia’s Ambassador to Romania Oleg Malginov said the refinery was closed in a tax evasion probe.

Media reports earlier said the Romanian police searched the premises of LUKoil’s refinery in the town of Ploiesti on October 2 “as part of an investigation into tax evasion and money laundering that caused an estimated damage of 200 million euros,” Romania’s National Anti-Corruption Department said.

Prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption Department accompanied by an armed special operation force seized LUKoil’s accounting documents and set up posts on the refinery’s territory, media reports said.

LUKoil Europe Holdings, which is part of LUKoil, holds a 97.1% stake in the Ploiesti refinery. LUKoil also owns 300 filling stations in Romania.

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