Car dealership in Prague collapses with debt over 200 million, owner vanishes
The used car facility Auta Super faces bankruptcy. Creditors are owed hundreds of millions, dozens of cars have gone missing. Police are investigating the owner for possible fraud; over two hundred customers are affected. The company's chief is unreachable.
Car dealership in Prague collapses with debt over 200 million, owner vanishes
The used car facility Auta Super in the capital has become insolvent. The company's total liabilities are estimated at 216 million crowns. Simultaneously, criminal investigators are examining its conduct for alleged fraud and embezzlement. The number of clients who have suffered loss exceeds two hundred, according to investigative website Odkryto.cz.
The company's collapse came after Moneta Auto stopped lending to it. This company financed the purchase of 53 vehicles, which were to serve as collateral for loans. When payments ceased, the creditor company began investigating where the automobiles were. Physical inspection revealed that of more than fifty vehicles, only eighteen could be located. The facility's management claimed the remaining ones were in repair shops, rental facilities, or on display at trade fairs. Moneta deemed these explanations implausible.
Moneta's financial loss exceeds 77 million crowns. The leasing company Raiffeisen has registered a claim of nearly 100 million. Payment of all debts stopped at the end of April. Inspection revealed the company lacked both personnel and operational capacity to meet its obligations in the future. Moneta therefore petitioned the court for insolvency proceedings.
Prague's municipal court on Monday opened insolvency proceedings and called on other creditors to file their claims. Criminal investigators have been handling the case since the end of April, when they conducted a raid at a facility in Hostivař and seized several dozen cars. Defrauded customers gathered at the entrance, those to whom the facility had not paid money for sold vehicles, had failed to transfer the car to the new owner, or had arranged a lease on a vehicle without their consent.
The facility's owner, fifty-year-old Pavel Suchánek, has been unlocatable since May. When problems came to light, he suffered a collapse and ended up in hospital. He then reportedly left the country. His family and colleagues claim they have no idea where he is. Police have not officially launched a search, but investigators cannot contact him.
Suchánek allegedly became indebted due to construction of a new sales centre. He was relying on an initial capital investment of 50 million euros from Ukrainian businessman Evan Medynsky. This transaction was supposed to take place at the end of last year but never occurred. According to reviewed documents, Medynsky himself owed Suchánek several million euros.
Source: Odkryto.cz / Aktuálně.cz
Source: Aktuálně.cz