Romanian real estate developer Nordis, which was embroiled in a national scandal at the beginning of the year for allegedly defrauding clients of EUR 200 million through a pyramid scheme, announced on Monday, September 22, that a new strategic investor is looking to take over its business. The investor, the Avangarde Group, is also active on the real estate market and aims to acquire Nordis Mamaia SRL and Nordis Management SRL, the main companies in the group.
Ştefan Unchiaşu, Avangarde administrator, says that the final decision will be made following detailed legal, technical, and financial-accounting analyses, which will be done by the end of the year, News.ro reported.
“We want to fully capitalize on this business opportunity and the development of the Avangarde Group to the next level. We have been active for over 15 years in the real estate market, totaling so far over 5,000 apartments completed and delivered, and today we have in development, in Bucharest and surrounding areas, another over 1,500 apartments,” Ştefan Unchiaşu said.
According to the announcement, the takeover of the Nordis Group by Avangarde “represents a realistic and sustainable solution for maximizing the chances of recovering the amounts invested by creditors.”
“I am glad that the development potential of the Nordis group has a chance to be capitalized by a Romanian entrepreneur, with relevant experience in the real estate field,” said Emanuel Poştoacă, special administrator of Nordis.
The announcement comes as the Nordis case, once a prime example of political corruption and corporate greed, fades from public memory. The case broke out in October 2024 after an investigation by independent journalists at Recorder and became a major story alleging corruption at the highest levels.
In February, 11 people were detained, including Social Democratic deputy Laura Vicol and her husband, Vladimir Ciorbă, for forming an organized criminal group, embezzlement, money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, and others. The Romanian Police also seized 201 Nordis properties and blocked 48 bank accounts. However, Vicol and Ciorbă were released shortly after that.
In August, judges decided to lift seizures on the Nordis Mamaia hotel and numerous other assets worth EUR 90 million. Seizures on accounts belonging to Nordis owners, Vladimir Ciorbă, Florin Alexandru Poștoacă, legal director Camelia Bîndiu, and the parent company of the group, Nordis Management, were also lifted.
Finally, judges allowed Nordis’ main shareholder, businessman Vladimir Ciorbă, to leave the country. Days later, however, prosecutors reinstated the seizures.
According to former justice minister Stelian Ion, the Nordis case is stagnating because for almost half a year the Public Ministry has not provided DIICOT with the funds necessary to carry out the expertises. In reply, the Prosecutor’s Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice qualified the information as false and specified that DIICOT had not requested funds.
(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Octav Ganea)
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