Energoni parts ways with renowned energy experts – report

(ADPnews) – Oct 11, 2010 - Two distinguished energy experts have decided to sever ties with Bulgarian renewable energy company Energoni, which is facing a probe by national security agency DANS over suspicion of money laundering through share transactions.

“We are no longer in contact with the company and we have no intentions at all to work with them,” Ivan Hinovski, former board member of state-run power utility NEK, told Dnevnik, pointing out that this applies also to former Kozloduy NPP board chair Anton Ivanov.

The two experts were supposed to join Energoni’s board of directors but the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) prevented the management reshuffle from being voted by shareholders over omissions in documentation.

Both Hinovski and Ivanov made it clear at their nomination that they would insist on transparency in attracting capital and would withdraw on any suspicion of irregularities.

Energoni listed on the BSE in autumn 2008 without any history and almost no assets. In April 2010, the FSC halted trade in the company's shares but only after registering a capital hike following the merger into Energoni of Royal Resorts and its subsidiary Royal Investments. The latter held a wind farm patent whose value rocketed from BGN 9 million (USD 6.4m/EUR 4.6m) to BGN 547 million within a couple of years. Thus Energoni became the largest company listed on the BSE in terms of market capitalisation.

On September 23, Greek national Dimitrios Aivaliotis (who held a 43.3% stake prior to the transaction) sold to his compatriot Michail Georgopapadakos (28.5%) a total of 128.65 million shares for the amount of BGN 16.7 million, or BGN 0.13 per share. Then the latter, who serves as the company's executive director, sold more than 64 million shares to a company bearing the same name as the brokerage, Mac Cap PLC, for over BGN 2.5 million, or BGN 0.04 per share. From this transaction alone, Georgopapadakos incurred a loss of some BGN 5.8 million.

The buyer and the eponymous brokerage are both owned by Maksim Dimov, who is board of directors member and shareholder in Energoni through Mac Cap Holding (11.7%).

Energoni says on its website it plans to develop 300 MW of wind parks and 30 MW of photovoltaic (PV) power stations.

(BGN 1.0 = USD 0.714/EUR 0.511)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!