Warsaw (Puls Biznesu) – Eureko, the minority shareholder of PZU, Poland’s biggest insurance company, has received monthly financial data of the whole group for the last two years. It was not legal.
Eureko has received detailed data after the management of PZU decided to do it in April 2004. The present management headed by Jaromir Netzel found out about it at the end of June when it saw the agreement between Eureko and Ernst & Young, which was supposed to prepare the data for the Dutch investor. The new management decided immediately to stop sending the data to Eureko. The investor would like the Polish insurer to be transparent, and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. It asked in March 2004 to be presented financial data because it influenced its consolidated results.
“The data are necessary to send the necessary information to the Dutch supervisory institutions”, Ernst Jansen, Eureko deputy CEO confirmed.
Eureko, which two years ago had 21 percent in PZU, has since received financial data of the PZU group, including PZU Zycie, PTE PZU, PZU Tower and CIG PZU. The reports were 10 pages long. The previous management decided to give the data to Eureko although its legal department was against it. The problem is that all shareholders should have access to the same data so if Eureko received monthly reports, the other shareholders should have been provided with them as well. They weren’t, which is a crime.
“The Treasure which has 55.1 percent in PZU receives many data which are not presented to the other shareholders”, Ernst Jansen defended.
He refused to comment on the decision of the new government because he has not been formally informed about it.
Another problem is the agreement with Ernst & Young. PZU used to pay to the company although Eureko received them.
“Eureko should pay the bills, the agreement looks like acting against one’s own company”, one of PZU managers admitted.
Maciej Socha, the director of the management’s office, confirmed that an investigation is being held in the company. According to Pawel Szalamacha, the deputy Minister of the Treasure, the ministry is also analyzing the case.The Ministry of the Treasure accused Eureko for filing a suit against it in a foreign court although the Dutch company pledged not to do it in the privatization agreement. The Polish government is also trying to reverse the partial decision of the arbitrary tribunal which said that it had broken the provisions of the agreement for supporting investment when it did not fulfill the privatization agreement signed in 2001 with Eureko. The prosecutor’s office in Gdansk is finishing the investigation over mistakes in the first stage of PZU privatization. The agreement with Eureko may be cancelled.