Friday, 18 September 2026
The Bucharest Court of Appeal has annulled a fine of approximately RON 364 million, equivalent to around €73 million when imposed, against Tinmar Energy in a case concerning alleged manipulation of Romania’s wholesale energy market.
The sanction was issued by Romania’s National Energy Regulatory Authority, ANRE, in 2024 following allegations that Tinmar Energy had breached the EU Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency, known as REMIT. According to Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal, the penalty remains the largest individual fine imposed in the European Union for an alleged infringement of REMIT.
The case concerned transactions described as A-B-A trades, involving the same market participants appearing in successive transactions with their positions reversed. Tinmar Energy challenged ANRE’s findings and the resulting financial penalty through proceedings initiated in 2024.
In September 2026, the Bucharest Court of Appeal ordered the full annulment of both the ANRE decision imposing the fine and the investigation report on which the sanction had been based, according to Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal. The ruling can still be challenged before the High Court on the limited grounds provided by law.
Tinmar Energy was represented by a consortium of three law firms coordinated by Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal. Its team was led by Partner Mihnea Galgoțiu-Săraru and Senior Managing Associate Alina Stan, alongside Managing Associate Lucian Savin, Senior Associates Alin Alecsii and Sorin Sirbu, and Associate Iris Manea.
“Tinmar Energy S.A. is grateful to the Romanian justice for this ruling, which confirms the position consistently maintained by the company since the outset of the proceedings and confirms that the sanction imposed in 2024 lacked both factual and legal grounds. We will continue, both in this case and more generally, to use all legal means available to protect the company’s reputation and interests. We also thank the Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal team for its assistance and for coordinating the consortium involved in the representation,” said Augustin Oancea, Founder of Tinmar Energy.
“We are honored to have contributed to achieving a result that protects our client’s interests in a case of exceptional complexity and scale. Beyond the specific stakes involved, this judgment represents an important benchmark regarding the standards of evidence and procedural safeguards that must be respected when imposing sanctions of such magnitude, as well as the essential role of judicial review in these circumstances,” said Mihnea Galgoțiu-Săraru, Partner at Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal.
The ruling represents a significant development in the regulatory dispute, although the possibility of a further challenge means the proceedings may not yet be concluded.
