THE ACTIVITY of the Bankers Trust Inter Commerce Corporation (BTICC), concerning an offer to sell a 34-percent stake in oil distributor Transpetrol, is a serious deception of both laymen and professionals, Economy Ministry spokesman Maroš Havran told the TASR news agency on July 15.
BTICC, allegedly representing seven minority shareholders in Transpetrol, is offering 647 ordinary shares, which represents a 34.05-percent stake in the company's fixed assets. BTICC wants to sell the stake for at least Sk2 billion (€50 million).
However, Havran labelled the offer as a mere fraud.
"Only the state, Yukos and Finance B.V. are the shareholders in Transpetrol. None of them has ever transferred its package of shares, or any part of it, to any third party. Also, no third party has ever been authorized to conduct any measures that would result in changing the ownership of this set of shares," Havran explained.
In addition, there is no court decision in effect that would allow any third party to claim ownership of a set of shares in Transpetrol.
The Economy Ministry therefore warns that if any entity decides to go for the offer, the entity faces a high risk of having shares in a fictitious business.
"The deal may result in significant losses on the side of the entity," Havran said.
