RIGA - The first major casualty from Latvia's economic retrenchment has hit the bankruptcy court, as real estate investor Janis Abolins filed an application for insolvency, saying he is "tired of fighting with the banks and insolvency seems the best solution," reports Latvian business daily Dienas Bizness.
He attributes his troubles to either the inactivity by the municipalities or the stagnating Latvian economy.
His problems started two years ago after buying real estate in central Latvia, in the process borrowing about 800,000 lats (1.1 million euros) from several banks.
One of the problems, he said, was slow administrative decision-making. They did not approve the master plans he had proposed for the properties.
Land with an approved project usually sells for more than land without.
Without the approvals, hopes to sell the properties at a profit dried up. "Who would need several hectares for a million euros," he asks, without a master plan.
After consulting lawyers, Abolins decided upon insolvency. "I am not doing this to avoid responsibility or lose my properties. I want to… return the borrowed money according to my own plan, without any fines," he said.
