Stock Market Manipulation Accusations in Rosia Montana Case

The Romanian Opposition party USR announced they would file an official complaint at the Anti-corruption Department. In their opinion, the Government manipulated the stock market in the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation case.

After Romania won the case against Gabriel Resources, questions were asked: why did the Romanian Government officials let the general public know they expected Romania to lose the case?

A month before the decision of the Arbitrary Court was announced, Romanian Government officials offered interviews to journalists, letting the public understand that Romania was expected to lose the case and to pay billions in compensation.

Statements and news saying Romania would lose the case against Gabriel Resources a month before the decision was taken

Romanian TV stations, such as Digi24, cited “sources” who let journalists know that the officials expected Romania to lose the case.

Romania expects that on February 10, it will lose the lawsuit brought by Gabriel Resources to our country for the gold from Roșia Montană after the scandal by which the location was included in the UNESCO Heritage. Government sources stated that the subject was discussed on Wednesday in the Government meeting, Marcel Ciolacu and the Minister of Finance expecting that Romania will be obliged to pay at least two billion dollars.

Romanian natinoal TV station Digi24 on January 31, 2024

This information was confirmed by how the Prime Minister referred to the case in February.

We must pay about 6 billion euros for what Cioloș (Dacian Ciolos, former Prime Minister) did with Roșia Montană.

Marcel Ciolacu, Romania’s Prime Minister, referring to Rosia Montana case before the sentence

The Minister of Finance, Marcel Bolos, took the same approach and referred to the case similarly.

It’s a process and an amount that gives you chills. We have carefully analyzed the expenses already carried out in Roşia Montană, and indeed, any decision of this kind puts pressure on the state budget. The calculations show that expenses of around one billion euros have been made. So we expect a decision if given in this regard, that provides compensation at this level of the already invested amount. There are expenses with documents that were made there.

Romania’s Minister of Finance statement regarding Rosia Montana case before the decision

Such statements had the role of manipulating the stock market, in Catalin Drula’s opinion. The Leader of the Save Romania Union Party – USR announced official complaints against the two officials.

We will file a criminal complaint with the Anti-corruption Department. For the manipulation of the capital market and the undermining of the national economy, I told you that we would also notify the regulator of the capital market in Ontario, Canada, where Gabriel Resources, the company behind the Roşia Montană project, is listed because the manipulation of the capital market means that some people are having their money stolen based on false statements. Practically, in a single month, based on the irresponsible statements of Marcel Ciolacu, Marcel Boloş and their party colleagues, the value of the shares doubled. The Canadian company now has a market capitalization of over 800 million Canadian dollars, representing over 600 million dollars. Almost exclusively based on the disputes in Romania, the shareholders won more than 300 million dollars.

USR – Save Romania Union Party

According to USR, Cătălin Drula, the leader of the USR, warned from February 1 “that the irresponsible statements” of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and the ministers “do nothing but enrich their smart boys on the stock market.”

Why publicly say you expect to lose a case a month before the decision?

Beyond any stock market manipulation scenario, which the anti-corruption and regulatory authorities must investigate, another detail is not mentioned. There is an unwritten rule that you don’t make such statements before any decision. If you, a government official, show that you expect to lose a case, chances are you will encourage such a decision from those who are supposed to be unbiased, especially in such complex cases. This might have led to a catastrophic scenario.

According to estimates from Gabriel Resources, the Canadian mining company that has sought to develop the Rosia Montana project since the late 1990s, the site holds approximately 314 tons of gold and 1,500 tons of silver. This vast treasure, buried beneath the mountain’s verdant slopes, is valued at tens of billions of dollars, fluctuating with the volatile prices of precious metals on the global market.

The value of gold in Rosia Montana today amounts to almost 19 billion euros, adding more than one billion euros for silver.