Yesterday prosecutors questioned PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu as witness in the Rompetrol case. After the questioning Tariceanu told the press he wrote a 3-page statement explaining prosecutors how he had bought Rompetrol shares in 2004, relying on press information. (...) "My bank accounts are no secret" Tariceanu said he explained to prosecutors about how he had bought Rompetrol shares in April 2004, before he became a PM. (...) He said he was keen on Ziarul Financiar (Financial Daily), but he could not say how many Rompetrol shares he had had, because there had been several transactions. When asked if Dinu Patriciu manipulated the market, Tariceanu answered he couldn't say such a thing. He added: "It is hard for me to believe this is about manipulation, since it is about buying and selling shares." He said his shares had been sold in due time and that the most substantial package had been sold right after he became a PM, in order to avoid all interpretation of his investment in Rompetrol shares. (...) As for a different issue, Tariceanu said he didn't ask prosecutors about checks on bank accounts and said he was neither "curious" nor "concerned", since his bank accounts were no secret. (...)

Bogdan GALCA