EUREKO TO SEEK COMPENSATION FOR LOSSES FROM POLISH PZU ROW

Netherlands-based insurance group Eureko is to seek compensation for losses incurred through a feud with the Polish treasury over the control of insurer PZU. Eureko assistant manager Michal Nastula said that “we informed the treasury minister we will file a suit for compensation and we will seek international arbitration”. He added that “we have found out that the state wants to break up the PZU group and we cannot stand by watching while our interests are violated”. A Eureko-led consortium including Poland’s BIG Bank acquired 30% of the Polish insurer last year, paying 3bn zlotys. Eureko’s lawsuit plans come after alleged recent contact between the ministry and potential foreign investors aimed at gauging their interest in acquiring a stake in PZU’s life unit Zycie. Last October an already uneasy relationship between the treasury ministry and the Eureko-BIG consortium deteriorated after the state tried to change PZU’s management and keep managers hostile to Eureko in Zycie. Eureko claims that when it bought into PZU it was also purchasing a stake in Zycie, while the treasury believes that it retained full control of the life unit.