Head of British Petroleum Romania suspect of involvement in Carlos the Jackal's terrorist bombing

Five Romanian diplomats who worked in Bonn during the Communist regime were recently accused by the Institute for Researching Communist Crimes in Romania (IICCR) of involvement in the placing of explosive devices in packages sent to Romanian anti-Communist dissidents. One of the five diplomats listed in the criminal complaint tabled at the Military Court of Justice is Dan Mihoc, currently general manager of the company representing British Petroleum in Romania.

Mihoc declared for Hotnews.ro that his activity as an officer of the former political police, Securitate, was exclusively related to economy issues and denies any connection with the attacks against Radio Free Europe in 1981.

Mihoc says that all accusations regarding his involvement in the „bomb the dissidents” affair are pure inventions.

In the complaint submitted on November 7 at the Military Prosecution Office, IICCR claims that Mihoc was, in the early ’80’s, the second secretary in Romania’s embassy to Bonn.

According to the complaint, a certain Constantinescu „unveiled to German authorities the fact that Mihoc organized, along with terrorist Ilici Ramirez Sanchez, a.k.a Carlos the Jackal, the explosive packages attacks against Romanian anti-Communist dissidents Paul Goma, Serban Orascu and Nicolae Penescu”.

The packages were sent in February 1981 „with the intention to cause the death or severe injuries of the targets, as well as to intimidate other challengers of the Communist regime”. The researchers at IICCR claim that, until the attacks, Dan Mihoc was an officer of the 0195 military unit.

Contacted by Hotnews.ro, Mihoc denied all accusations: „They have nothing to do with the reality. There are pure inventions”. „It is true I was an officer”, Mihoc admits, but claiming he had nothing to do with the attacks.

„I wasn’t connected in any way with this case, not with Romanian persons. The only activities I had in Germany were economy, technology and science related” says Mihoc.

At this moment, Mihoc believes that the charges against him will not affect his business relations: „My partners know me very well”.

Beside being a general manager at Premium Lubricants Romania, which represents British Petroleum in Romania, Mihoc is also a board member in the Car Producers’ and Importers’ Association (APIA).

According to the complaint tabled by IICCR, Mihoc had a „nervous breakdown after the 1981 attacks and was transferred to another unit, working for the North America and Western Europe service since 1983”.

Sources say that, more than the sending of explosive packages, Mihoc’s role after the failed 1981 attack against Radio Free Europe, was to identify breaches in the radio’s security system.

On February 21, 1981, a bomb exploded in the Radio Free Europe building in Munich. Although the bomb affected the Czech language offices, the attack was aimed at the Romanian department. The attack was carried on by the internationally renowned terrorist Carlos the Jackal, as commanded by the Romanian political police, Securitate.

Richard Cummings, former head of security at Radio Free Europe, says that there is some clear data indicating that former Securitate officers negotiated the attacks directly with Carlos, paying him some 1 million US Dollars. One of the interim officers was Sergiu Nica, died in 1995 in a suspicious car crash.

Nica wrote on February 21, 1990, a report describing the way the attack was organized, under the direct command of Romania’s recently executed dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu. Cumming also says that the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) refuses to unveil the names of the other officers involved in the 1981 attack.

According to Cummings, the former head of SIE, general Nicolae Plesita, and the officers involved in the attacks must answer in Court for their deeds.

Sources in IICCR say that SIE recently answered in very general terms to the addressed the Institute sent at the beginning of October, demanding data about the officers involved in the attacks targeting Radio Free Europe, „We have no data that we can make available”, the SIE answer reads.

IICCR tabled the criminal complaint against the former SIE head, general Nicolae Plesita, along with five former Romanian diplomats in Bonn – Dan Mihoc, Constantin Ciobanu, Ion Constantin, Ioan Lupu and Ion Grecu.

The complaint is supported by documents released by CNSAS (the body enabled to study the former Securitate archives), CIA, STASI (the former East-German political police), AVH (the Hungarian political police), official notes and various testimonies.