site.btaBelgian Investor Buys Controversial Banker's Stakes in BTC, NURTS, Defence-Related Companies

Belgian Investor Buys Controversial Banker's Stakes in BTC, NURTS, Defence-Related Companies

Sofia, March 24 (BTA) - Pierre Louvrier, the sole owner of
LIC33, which has acquired majority stakes in six companies from
controversial banker Tsvetan Vassilev, gave a news conference
here on Tuesday to unveil his intentions about his acquisitions.

Vassilev is the majority shareholder in the failed Corporate
Commercial Bank (Corpbank). LIC33 is a group of companies
pooling European Union investors specialized in emerging markets
and distressed situations.

LIC33 purchased from Vassilev 43 per cent in Bulgarian
Telecommunications Company (BTC, trade name: Vivacom), 100 per
cent in NURTS (a major provider of TV and radio broadcasting
services), and 91 per cent each in Dunarit (an ammunition and
explosives manufacturer), Avionams (a military jet and
helicopter repair and maintenance provider), GARB (an audience
research company) and First Digital (a digital terrestrial
multiplex operator), against 1 euro, in return of pledges to
cover outstanding obligations worth about 900 million euro,
Louvrier told the news conference.

The transaction has not yet obtained the relevant regulatory
approvals.

Louvrier said that LIC33 will pay all money owed by these
companies to Corpbank and to other banks and will make
investments in the companies to make them market leaders. The
Belgian investor specified that the group will pay the debts
with money provided by international banks.

Louvrier said that as an EU member, Bulgaria has a stable
government, protects private property, and respects the rule of
law. He said that due diligence will be conducted in the
companies in which LIC33 has acquired stakes, after which
negotiations will be held with Corpbank to which the bulk of the
debts is owed. The next stage is investing in the companies to
make them stable, he said.

Louvrier said that he is not responsible for the personal
financial relations between Vassilev and Corpbank and for the
Corpbank embezzlement charges.

Approached several times by reporters about his connections with
Russian politicians, Louvrier said that he is not involved in
politics but is just an independent investor. He denied links
with Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev. Louvrier said he is
working in Russia but he is a Belgian and not Russian national.
He said his Belgian passport was issued in Moscow because he
lives there.

Louvrier said that the specific characteristics of the situation
in Bulgaria which emerged last year prompted him to invest
here. He said that the members of his team have not met with
representatives of the Bulgarian Government or with foreign
ambassadors in Sofia. He said they are "technical staff" and do
not have to meet with cabinet officials, but would do so if
invited to such an appointment.

On June 20, 2014, having suspended all operations after a panic
run by depositors left it illiquid, Corpbank (Bulgaria's fourth
biggest lender) was placed by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB)
under special supervision for a maximum of six months to allow a
thorough audit and possible restructuring. The BNB Governing
Council withdrew Corpbank's banking licence on November 5, 2014,
and the bank's bankruptcy was petitioned on November 7. The
delicensing decision is being appealed by shareholders in the
bank before the Supreme Administrative Court. Because of the
appeal, the bankruptcy petition has been put on hold. Vassilev
has been charged with aiding senior Corpbank executives to
embezzle nearly 206 million leva from the bank between December
2011 and June 2014.

* * *

Issuing a press release via the government's information service
later in the day, the cabinet said that it monitors with
careful attention all major transactions with assets suspected
of having a connection with Corpbank and the accused Vassilev.

The press release says that the main task of the government
before deciding on its attitude towards those who claim
themselves as investors is to study the origin of the funds with
which the investment was made. The government insists on
guaranteeing that any investment in a member state of the EU is
made only using funds obtained from a lawful business activity,
says the press release.

The cabinet calls on the investors in the LIC33 group to provide
it with official information about the origin of the money used
to acquire stakes in legal entities performing activities on
the territory of Bulgaria. "Only after that, on the basis of an
analysis of the provided information, will the government decide
whether to establish contact with the investors," reads the
press release.