Following the levy set on 25 percent of the Rompetrol Rafinare (RRC) shares, the company’s chairman Dinu Patriciu stated that the whole trial is an abuse and a political show staged by the Romanian president Traian Basescu, "a communist with intentions of collectivizing the private property" of whose legitimacy is frail as the vote difference was very narrow, said Patriciu in a press conference on Wednesday.

The Romanian businessman expressed intentions to allow prosecutors to investigate all his possessions; however he reiterated his total mistrust in the integrity and professionalism of the prosecutors handling his case as important documents in the investigation had leaked to the competition.

Patriciu warned that if the abuses he has been exposed to do not halt he will shut down the company, whose annual contribution to the state’s budget of 800 mln US dollars makes up 7 per cent of the GDP. This decision would trigger a fall of the stock market and the withdrawal of all investment funds from the Romanian stock market, and would directly impact on the lives of the 8 000 employees.

Patriciu also referred to the Hotnews.ro inquiry regarding the Murzuk affair as all the necessary and relevant probes were given to the prosecutors for the investigation.

The General Prosecutor’s Office explained Wednesday the decision to levy Rompetrol shares as based on the gravity of the accusations brought to the managers of the company Dinu Patriciu, Philip Stephenson si Colin Hart, of bringing a 20,000 bln ROL prejudice to the Romanian state.

The prosecutors have previously levied the management trio’s shares on Feb. 21, followed by another levy on 5.4 bln shares Rompterol Rafinare set on Tuesday evening.

The Bucharest Stock Exchange announced Wednesday morning it had halted transactions with Rompetrol Rafinare (RRC), confirming the expectations of financial analysts quoted by Hotnews.ro, following the levy imposed the day earlier.

Questions remain,weather the Romanian state may order a levy on stocks held by a foreign company, taking into account that RRC is controlled by the Netherlands-based Rompetrol Group BV.