Octogon Gas & Logistics SRL was established in 2008 by Corneliu Idu, the wealthiest resident of Constanța at the time, with its primary activity being the distribution of gaseous fuels through pipelines. In 2010, the company opened an LPG terminal in the Port of Midia with a capacity of 4,000 cubic meters, following an investment of 15 million euros. In 2020, Corneliu Idu passed away, and the business was taken over by his son, Corneliu Bogdan Idu.
What interest does Nawaf Salameh have in acquiring a company with negative equity of 32 million lei and debts exceeding 62 million lei in 2023—over five times its turnover of 12,937,038 lei?
How is it that Idu, an intelligent and cautious businessman, never managed to make a profit in 14 years of operation? After Corneliu Idu’s death, the business was taken over by his son, Bogdan, who sold it to a Syrian-American entrepreneur specializing in alcohol production and distribution, currently undergoing an unprecedented business expansion. Nawaf is announcing expansions into Japan, factories and investments worth hundreds of millions in the U.S., hiring brand ambassadors, and buying hotels in Sinaia—all in a frenzy that should raise questions.
Now, Nawaf Salameh is expanding into the energy sector, boasting—rightfully so—about approvals granted by the Romanian Government (without specifying who gave these approvals and for what) to invest in a strategic and complex sector like energy.
The terminal reported its highest turnover since its establishment in 2023 but has recorded losses in nearly all of its 14 years of operation. Last year, Octogon Gas & Logistics SRL reported a turnover of 12,937,038 lei and losses of 2,231,782 lei, employing 17 people. The company, owned until now by the Idu family, recorded massive debts last year amounting to 64,687,447 lei.
Before his death, Corneliu Idu suffered a significant loss after his associates, the Drăgoi family, allegedly diluted his shareholding, depriving him of potential earnings within the Comvex company. The lingering question remains: to whom and in what manner did the Comvex port ultimately end up following privatization? The privatization of the port occurred in 1997 for a mere 12 million dollars. Many years later, for a similar stake to the one sold in 1997, the wives of indirect shareholders became direct shareholders, but the question is: for how much? In the second part of the interview, we will uncover how this transfer was orchestrated.
Raymond de Rubeis, a former member of the Comvex Board of Directors and godson of one of the beneficiaries of Comvex’s control, Dan Drăgoi, provides an inside look in an interview, detailing the scheme that includes profit transfers via transfer pricing, describing this “scam” in meticulous detail.
Radu Soviani publishes details about the Comvex privatization story, highlighting dubious transfers made with the complicity of the former Securitate, represented by Dan Drăgoi and later by his son, Bogdan Drăgoi. The material also presents the methods by which Corneliu Idu and Raymond de Rubeis were deceived in this complex business affair.
Corneliu Idu was entangled in the web surrounding Comvex and, despite attempting in court to overturn the illegal actions of former general Dan Drăgoi, fear prevented him from continuing the fight. Today, Corneliu Idu’s successor has sold the last “crown jewel” of the businessman to Nawaf Salameh. Was Bogdan Idu incapable of revitalizing this investment? Or perhaps he lacked the “connections” and explosive relationships displayed by Nawaf Salameh, who seems desperate to position himself among great aristocratic families, with a “family office” overseeing stakes in all the companies Salameh has established and prepared for his children to inherit.
We will follow up as we uncover the motives behind this acquisition (which are certainly not financial, given that this company, despite starting with good intentions, has only managed to accumulate debts of 62 million lei over 14 years…).
