Rompetrol head Dinu Patriciu stepped down from the management positions of all Romanian companies within the oil group.

"I kept the COE and the group presidency positions in Holland, but I withdrew from all executive posts in Romania. I did not feel this decision was necessary to be announced publicly as it could have been read as a surrender following the pressure I was exposed to.

Now I can tell you that I withdrew from these positions for quite a while and I took all measures to appoint new persons in order to protect the company’s interest" said Patriciu quoted by the Bucharest-based newspaper Jurnalul National on Saturday.

The announcement came after the Court rejected on Friday the prosecutors' request to arrest the Rompetrol chairman charged with financial wrongdoing.