STA, 26 October 2020 - A special audit has found irregularities in eight of a total of 30 audited deals energy company Petrol concluded under the former Tomaž Berločnik-led management in 2015-2019. The auditor believes that some irregularities show the management could be liable for damages while elements of criminal liability have also been detected.
BDO Revizor audited 30 deals concluded between 1 January 2015 and 24 October 2019, when the three-member Berločnik management resigned "by mutual agreement".
Audited were the transactions in excess of a million euro concerning the acquisition and disposal of financial investments, other types of investments, and sponsorship contracts.
The report on the audit, which Petrol published on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange on Friday, points to irregularities in the transactions concerning the companies Mbills, Zagorski Metalac, Petrol Beograd, Vjetroelektrarne Glunča, Petrol Hidroenergija, Atet, BH Petrol Oil Company, and Abciti.
These transactions involved acquisitions of ownership stakes in these companies, capital injections or registration of a new company.
They involved violations of internal provisions about compulsory supervisor approval and the absence of due care while the management also underestimated economic feasibility of certain deals.
BDO Revizor maintains that to prove the former management board has caused damage to the company, Petrol will have to seek opinion by various economics experts.
The auditor also detected elements which indicate that the former management possibly committed crimes.
"Given potential court proceedings, the circumstances of this segment of the audit have not been disclosed," the release said.
A decision on the audit was taken in December 2019 as the shareholders met to confront the former management with allegations of mismanagement in drafting plans for 2020-2022. Berločnik, however, claimed the management had to resign due to different views on Petrol's future strategy.
