The High Court of Cassation and Justice has admitted today, June 12, 2020, the appeals filed by the nine interested parties that filed appeals in the “Băneasa case”, among which also Alpha Bank România S.A., Unicredit Bank S.A., Unicredit SPA Italia and NBG Bank Malta Limited, the four banking institutions being represented by attorneys at law of the criminal law department of Zamfirescu Racoți Vasile & Partners. By the solution delivered, The High Court of Cassation and Justice ordered the cancellation of the judgment challenged by appeal, the referral of the case for retrial to the Bucharest Court of Appeal and cancellation of all forms of execution of the precautionary measures taken by the criminal judgment challenged by appeal.

The defense of the banks was provided by Calin-Andrei Zamfirescu, Senior Partner ZRVP, George Avram, Senior Associate ZRVP and Ionut Chisar, Senior Associate ZRVP.

Following this solution, a new judge of the Bucharest Court of Appeal is going to judge the civil part of the “Băneasa case”, and the interested parties will have the possibility to defend their rights acquired in good faith.

We remind that the judge of the Bucharest Court of Appeal ordered in 2018, by the judgment challenged by appeal and without subpoenaing the interested persons Alpha Bank România S.A., Unicredit Bank S.A., Unicredit SPA Italia and NBG Bank Malta Limited, that the property formed of land, with an area of 224.6 hectares and constructions was the public property of the Romanian State, deciding that such property be restituted to the Romanian State. By the same judgment, the court ordered also that the accounts of the defendants and of the civilly liable parties be garnished up to the full restitution of the plot of land with an area of 224.6 hectares, valuated by the technical and scientifical finding report made in the case at lei 6,194,722,180,586.5 lei (equivalent of USD 180,821,091, at the level of 2006), as well as of the amount of lei 1,418,646.6 (the value of the demolished constructions).