Protests started by National Investment Fund (FNI) investors yesterday became violent, when disgruntled depositors, who had come to Bucharest from several towns in Romania, set a car on fire in Victoria square. The vehicle was trying to exit the square after its driver had hit a protester who is now under medical care, having suffered a cerebral accident.
Protesters, who reached Bucharest in the morning, blocked traffic through Victoria Square and, ignoring Police warnings, hit and kicked the cars still attempting to cross the square. Gendarmes reacted several times, when some of the protesters tried to jump over the metallic fence the police had set in the area. Violence was also triggered by the instigation of some agitators scattered through the crowd, who often shouted slogans of the Great Romania Party.
Beside investors’ representatives who asked for the support of Premier Isarescu’s advisors, another delegation of FNI depositors held a meeting with Chamber of Deputies chairman Ion Diaconescu, with the leader of PD (Democrat Party) parliamentary group Alexandru Sassu and with the Chamber secretary Florin Costiniu. However, the three officials did not make any promises.
According to the Executive’s spokesperson Gabriela Vranceanu-Firea, the Government is worried about the situation ensued following protests of FNI depositors. However, the Executive will not promise, under street protests’ pressure, to earmark a sum meant to cover investors’ losses. Firea stated that this is not possible, since the sum required by investors was artificially risen, and the allocation from the budget of some funds meant to cover up investors’ losses would mean harming the entire population of Romania, through an increase in taxes.
The main problem with FNI is now the accounting situation and the investment fund’s balance sheets, since there are some discrepancies as to the number of investors of the circulating fund units. Moreover, there are large discrepancies between financial assets reported by the fund and what was eventually discovered, which raises some questions as to the money that crossed the fund’s deposits and its final destination. The real situation of the fund can be uncovered only if the balance sheets are redrafted and all operations are retraced. The Government asked FNI investors to support the enquiry started by authorities by submitting complaints to the Police, in order to compare real data and the balance sheets of FNI and SOVInvest, which would provide for the restitution of much higher amounts of money than initially announced.
So far, only 20,000 persons have filed complaints to the Police, although the Government has launched an appeal in this sense. According to the Fund’s reports, the number of affected investors should amount to around 300,000. If discrepancies between what will be found at FNI and SOVInvest and investors’ requests remain, an investigation on the way in which money left the Fund and on its “whereabouts” must be initiated. One supposition is that the money left the fund by an over-assessment of shares or because a higher number of investors withdrew their money.