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Seven years after the insolvency world's largest pellet producer German Pellets, its former managing director is coming to court. As a court spokesman announced on Monday, the trial is scheduled to begin on Thursday at the Schwerin District Court. The 66-year-old defendant is accused of delaying bankruptcy, fraud, bankruptcy and tax evasion, among other things. Two other defendants in the trial face fraud and credit fraud charges. According to the investigation, German Pellets GmbH was said to have been insolvent almost a year before filing for insolvency on February 9, 2016.<\/p>\n
While interest rates were already approaching zero at the time, the company, which wanted to continue growing, promised a return of seven to eight percent.\u00a017,000 German investors and US investors who entrusted 700 million euros to German Pellets in view of the gold-rush mood for renewable energies lost almost all of their capital.\u00a0And that's not all the damage: In the end, the registered claims amount to around two billion euros.<\/p>\n
Leibold's explanation for the bankruptcy: the fall in the oil price, which also put the market price for wood pellets under pressure.\u00a0In addition, the sales of German Pellets collapsed due to two warm winters.\u00a0The takeover of the stove manufacturer Kago in 2010 also proved to be a bad investment.<\/p>\n
The creditors see things differently, sensing fraud and delays in insolvency.\u00a0In its black book for 2016, the Protection Association of Capital Investors (SdK) writes: \"The real scandal at German Pellets is that company founder Peter Leibold used the bond funds primarily to support related companies, including an Austrian foundation, as well as himself and his wife to grant loans instead of investing the funds directly in the pellets market.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seven years after the insolvency world’s largest pellet producer German Pellets, its former managing director is coming to court. As a court spokesman announced on Monday, the trial is scheduled to begin on Thursday at the Schwerin District Court. The … Continue reading