A pain point in the handling of the bankruptcy of trading company Levarht remains the collection of millions from the Middle East. A new problem the trustees have stumbled upon is that a large proportion of outstanding debtors' claims within a credit insurance policy taken out by Levarht are not covered.
This is according to a new bankruptcy report, which also mentions a digital questionnaire sent to former employees. By doing so, the trustees hope to gather additional information for the investigation into the causes and legality of the bankruptcy.
Millions from Middle East
In recent months, € 700,000 has been raised by the trustees in Levarht's bankruptcy through debtor collection. Until mid-August, about €10.5 million remained outstanding on 79 debtors. Compared to the previous report in May, that means 8 fewer debtors.
The top 30 debtors collectively represent about 94% (or about €9.9 million) of the outstanding balance. The top three debtors collectively represent over 50% of the total outstanding balance. All three of these debtors are based in the Middle East. With the help of local lawyers, the trustees are trying to get the money in.
Credit insurance
Levarht had a credit insurance policy that was supposed to protect the company from being damaged if a customer did not pay the outstanding invoice. However, the receivers found out that a large part of the outstanding accounts receivable was not covered. For claims that were covered by a limit, a large number of them were long outstanding at the date of bankruptcy, and/or the outstanding claim was higher than the limit, and/or there was a dispute.
Settling the extensive bankruptcy will take some time. Other developments reported by the trustees include the auction of 147 gift vouchers worth 15 euros found in the vault at Levarht for Primera, as well as the accelerated, discounted collection of money from an outstanding loan to a supplier. It generated €130,000 in the bankruptcy account.
The number of unsecured creditors rose to 429. The outstanding amount has been revised downwards to over €32.3 million.
Employees asked for help
About 260 former employees of Levarht have been asked by the trustees to complete a digital questionnaire. The intention of this survey is to get a better picture of the situation prior to the bankruptcy. In addition, as directly involved parties, they can point out relevant issues that might otherwise be overlooked and thus avoid 'blind spots' in the causes and legality investigation.
The results of the survey have now been received and form part of the cause-and-effect investigation to be conducted by the trustees. The results of a quick scan are expected in October 2023. A big data survey is ongoing. This aims to capture and reconstruct facts and critical events leading up to the bankruptcy.
Payment of employees
The trustees are in discussions with an external party about paying the employees' estate claims. Trouble is that digital payroll records are no longer available. The trustees aim to make the payment to estate creditors in the fourth quarter of 2023. A meeting of creditors is being prepared. This should take place in early 2024. Earlier, hopes were expressed to be able to do so as early as the end of 2023. However, the preparatory work for the meeting of creditors then turned out to be 'more extensive than expected.'
Mr. M.R. van Zanten and Mr. M.N. de Groot from Amsterdam were appointed as trustees. The bankruptcy, pronounced on 28 February 2022, is registered under reference: 13.ams.22.43.F.1306.1.22.
