The owner of the firm “Seksim Group”, Slovenian businessman Blaz Svetek, who is also the chairman of the Party “Advance Slovenia!”, said he was illegally dispossessed of his property estimated at over US$120 million in Moldova. In a news conference at IPN on April 6, the businessman said the scheme was implemented under the protection of judges and prosecutors.
Blaz Svetek stated that 15 year ago he decided to invest in business in Moldova and purchased a complex with 11 facilities near Greblesti village of Straseni district. Before starting his business, he decided to lease out five of the 11 facilities to an economic entity. Arguing that he didn’t indicate the bank accounts in the signed contract, his business partner sued him and asked for over 1 million lei damages from him for the reason that he could not start his business. Blaz Svetek said he indicated all the necessary data in the contract, while the pretext invoked by his partner is unfounded.
Lawyer Alexandru Prisac said that his client Blaz Svetek lost the case in the first court and thus went to the Appeals Court, which ordered suspending the implementation of the decision of the first court. However, at that time a part of the facilities had been already auctioned off. After the Appeals Court rejected his appeal, the businessman went to the Supreme Court of Justice, but the previous court decision wasn’t quashed. This way he was dispossessed of his facilities, which were sold at an auction.
Blaz Svetek suspects that state functionaries have been involved in this scheme. The property in which he invested tens of thousands of euros was sold at much lower prices than the real cost and this thing was confirmed by the Agency for Land Relations and Cadaster.
The businessman said he also went to the National Anticorruption Center, but his complaints were rejected. He also submitted complaints to the Prosecutor’s Office, but all in vain. He thus appealed to the ECHR, complaining about the inaction of the Moldovan law enforcement bodies for defending the right to ownerships and is now waiting for this Court’s decision.
