the price tag for the legal aftermath HQ approaching SEK 350 million. Photo: Yvonne Åsell / Fredrik Sandberg / TT
The crash of the HQ Bank is the legal aftermath to reach breathtaking proportions. Both the pre-trial materials and legal expenses.
When the investment bank HQ was forced to tell their shareholders in spring 2010 that accelerated the settlement of its own trading portfolio were the few who could have imagined that it was the beginning of the end for the bank .
A few months later, however, the market capitalization has more than halved, and equity was more or less gone. The losses to close down its trading portfolio landed on breathtaking 1.2 billion instead of the first announced 200 million crowns.
the losses to close down its trading portfolio landed on breathtaking 1.2 billion instead of they first announced 200 million crowns.
In August the same year took FSA historic decision: to close down the bank, throwing out the management and the Board and HQ Bank for sale. The news that a preliminary investigation into suspected racketeering and aggravated accounting offense had been launched came just a few hours after Carnegie’s acquisition of HQ’s assets has been completed.
– There is reason to assume that HQ Bank in its report submitted incorrect data relating to the trading portfolio value, said state prosecutor Berndt Berger TT in September 2010.
Only five years later was Bengt Berger’s successor, Martin Tidén manage to complete the investigation and submitted the indictments. Now in February, a year later, the prosecution decided in court. But before the judgment be 35 trial days felled.
The extensive work and the fact that more than a month is set aside for the trial testimony of a tricky and complicated criminal cases. The price tag for the trial, in terms of the resources required from both EBM but also now from the court is high, maybe tens of millions of crowns. But the real legal costs of the HQ crash is significantly more expensive.
It can be especially is explained by the billion lawsuit submitted by HQ’s shareholders against the former board and management but also the bank auditor and KPMG.
the total amount HQ requires the auditor and former board is 3 billion. But given that the processes are expected to be ready for use until 2018 would, if HQ’s shareholders win, the final bill with interest to land at considerably more, perhaps over 4 billion.
The demands for damages is thus probably the largest in Swedish legal history in this type of case. The risk that debtors at that level has been the sued parties to “lawyer up”, as the term is called in English.
that is, try to get all the legal expertise that their budget allows. In this case, the legal help of several hundred million that has already been used since in 2010.
Damages process is a so-called Civil Procedure and on paper, nothing to do with the criminal now to be decided in court. But the fundamental questions overlap still largely one another. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish the money spent on the legal processes after the HQ crash.
To the shareholders can in HQ’s costs of meeting counts. According HQ which now operates the atmosphere, the company with the largest shareholder Stone Mörtstedt so far invested 134 million crowns. One of the main characters in both atmospheric and criminal process is Mats Qviberg. He has three representatives in the criminal process and also have sued EBM and Johan notified the state and has spent the equivalent of money to present their case.
Photo: Magnus Hjalmarsson Neideman
A of the other protagonists are the former auditor of HQ, Johan Dyrefors, and his employer, KPMG. The auditor is now being prosecuted in the criminal case and is being sued for damages, although his employer, KPMG is required on the money in the same mood.
KPMG backs up its employees and has opened the wallet to the best defense will be in place in the criminal case . The auditor as well Qviberg tried to replace the prosecutor and also argued that the indictment against him is contrary to the European Convention. One estimate is that KPMG totally put out about 100 million, but that does not mean KPMG representative.
– The figure is grossly exaggerated says Torgny Wetterberg lawyer and one of KPMG’s three representatives to SvD Enterprise.
But these are a very large amount in legal costs in total so far for KPMG, there is no doubt. Damages goal in itself has given birth to new processes. They tried to get sued right to reject any claims for damages to a conspicuously high cost. In the individual smaller process requiring KPMG and Mats Qviberg lawyers together compensation of close to 28 million after losing it.
The other indicted legal aid in the criminal proceedings calculated cost a few million. The liability case, the other tuned to take the part of Mats Qviberg defense and strategy.
A total of approximately almost 350 million already plowed into the processes and the meter continues to tick. The processes in the wake of Prosolvia bankruptcy are those who might almost be likened to the HQ, which ended the bill for the criminal case of 50-100 million, while costs in the liability case ended at 112 million.
The difference in cost is already noticeable and is also explained by the large damages Prosolvia auditors, PWC, was sentenced to pay the judgment in the Court of Appeal. A judgment was interpreted as the HQ’s shareholders chances to get through their compensation increased despite the fact that the parties subsequently was settled on a lower figure of 700 million.
Learn more about the HQ scandal here
No comments:
Post a Comment