Philip Bloom, the partner of Bogdan Baltazar in the Baltazar, Bloom & Pirvulescu consultancy, was arrested in the US, having been charged with paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to obtain contracts in Iraq.
The American businessman appeared in court yesterday, the New York Times reports, which adds that this is the first in a series of criminal charges against officials and contracts overseeing the rebuilding of Iraq
Bloom, who controlled three companies that did work in Iraq in the reconstruction effort, was charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money and interstate transportation of stolen property, all in connection with obtaining up to $3.5 million in reportedly fraudulent contracts.
The complaint against him also cites two unnamed co-conspirators who worked in the Coalition Provisional Authority, the American admistration that governed Iraq when the contracts were awarded in early 2004.
With the assistance of the alleged co-conspirators and others, Bloom submitted multiple bids for the same contracts, using the names of different companies that were either controlled by him or did not exist. Once there were sufficient bids to satisfy United States government regulations, the co-conspirators would ensure that the contract went to one of the companies, the complaint says.
Bogdan Baltazar yesterday stated that Baltazar, Bloom & Pirvulescu (BBP) was not involved in Philip Bloom''s dealings in Iraq in any way, with the transactions of his American partner being conducted through the company Global Business Group Logistic.
"Bloom was a silent partner in our company, without any implication whatsoever. I would run every operation as chairman and chief executive. I am not reneging him, but me having nothing to do with his business in Iraq is a fact," Baltazar said.
He added he had contacted Bloom''s lawyer to request details on his partner''s arrest. "What the lawyer said and I found interesting was that Phil was arrested as himself, not as the representative of GBC Logistic," Baltazar stated.
When asked how many of the contracts of the company he owns had come from his American partner, Baltazar answered there had indeed been some minor deals, such as feasibility studies, including those for the opening of a bank.
He mentioned that these contracts were completely separate from Bloom''s deals in Iraq.
As for the company''s image, Baltazar is relying on his reputation and believes that no matter what, the company will not be hurt. "Any partnership has its vulnerabilities. My father used to tell me that I should stand alone in life, because people that stand alone are powerful. He may have been right, essentially," Baltazar added. Philip Bloom is known in Romania as someone close to the authorities during the last 15 years. He has participated in many privatisations in Romania, including the acquisition by the US group Trinity Industries of the train carriage manufacturer Astra Arad, in a $100 million deal. He was also involved in the brokering of the sale of the firm Phoenix, to Allied Deals, a $38 million transaction. Moreover, he helped secure funding for Tarom to buy five Boeing 737 right after 1990.
Between 1964-1972 Bloom worked for Pepsi, where he was in charge of implementing Pepsi Cola''s franchise system in the communist countries: Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Poland.
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