Plaude-Relingere ruling overturned

RIGA - The Supreme Court’s Senate on May 11 overturned Riga Vidzeme District Court’s last December insolvency ruling against Ieva Plaude-Relingere, the founder and a shareholder of Kolonna group, reports news agency LETA. Following a protest from the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Senate ordered a new review of the case, said the Supreme Court’s press secretary Baiba Kataja.

The Senate released an abridged version of its verdict, the full version will be available on June 20.
The Prosecutor General’s Office on Feb. 25 filed an appeal against the insolvency of Plaude-Relingere, following a petition from Parex Bank. The bank said in its petition that Riga Vidzeme District Court’s decision to declare Plaude-Relingere insolvent was unfounded, and claimed that several procedural and legal provisions were violated when the court reviewed her insolvency application.

Parex said that the court had not evaluated evidence provided by the bank, proving that Plaude-Relingere’s transactions three years before the opening of the insolvency procedures were the cause of the businesswoman’s insolvency, as these transactions seriously undermined her financial situation.
The bank said that these transactions were meant to help Plaude-Relingere dodge her liabilities, and infringed upon her creditors’ interests. Parex also claimed that Plaude-Relingere had provided incomplete or untrue information about her properties.

Parex had previously filed lawsuits against several Kolonna group enterprises and Plaude-Relingere. The reason was Kolonna and Plaude-Relingere’s multiple failures to honor their obligations to Parex.
Plaude-Relingere, founder and shareholder of the beauty salon/cosmetics company Kolonna, was ruled insolvent by Riga Vidzeme District Court on Dec. 7 last year. Bankruptcy proceedings are to continue.
Holding Kolonna Group, founded in 1991, operated in 2009 with a turnover of 105 million euros. The concern includes 21 companies and employs a total of 971 people.