The file was registered Friday, February 21,a t the Bucharest Court of Appeals .
The financial watchdog’s decision was announced and published in the country’s Official Journal February 18.
The financial authority has ordered financial recovery procedures and has placed the country’s leading insurance company Astra under special administration. It suspended the prerogatives of the company’s shareholders and management and appointed KPMG as special administrator.
Astra is suspected of having underestimated its due damage claims and lowering its minimum required reserves by 40%, or RON100 million.
Astra is Romania’s largest insurer, with more than RON1 billion in gross written premiums in 2013 and a 15% share of the general insurance market. Its main shareholders are Nova Group Investments (72.7%) and Epsilon Estate Provider (27%). The two companies are indirectly controlled by Dan Adamescu.
The insurer needs a “significant capital increase”, to be determined by KPMG in the next few weeks, according to the financial authority.