Lars Windhorst

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Lars Windhorst (born November 22, 1976 in Rahden, Germany) began at the age of 15 his successful trading in assembled computers, using components which he had purchased at unusually favourable prices in the Far East. He was soon being celebrated by the media and politicians as an economic prodigy. Lars Windhorst accompanied the then German Chancellor Helmut Kohl as a model young entrepreneur on a trip to Asia. However, his rise was followed by a deep fall. Today the public prosecutor is conducting investigations against him because of suspicion of prevarication in an insolvency procedure, fraud, and share price manipulation.

[edit] Business History

1995 - The Windhorst Group operating in Germany and Asia reports turnover of DM 180 million. Branches opened in Europe, China und Vietnam.

1997 - Windhorst accompanies Chancellor Helmut Kohl on a business trip in Asia.

Windhorst’s business operations are soon in a crisis. He can still register successes, e.g. the partnership with Michael Douglas in a film company. Reports appear that Windhorst is operating with massaged figures and non-existent orders.

2000 - Windhorst Electronic GmbH has to cease trading, the final salary payments for employees are only made after a threat of sequestration.

Report of Goldberg-Consulting GmbH certifies that for years the Windhorst group of companies has been heavily indebted, ripe for insolvency, and unprofessionally managed.

Debt restructuring agreements are drawn up within the framework of a disencumberment strategy. This approach makes it possible for Windhorst, on the basis of the new German insolvency legislation (1999) to take on the debts of his companies, to file for personal insolvency and to become freed from debt as a result of the repayment of a small fraction of the total debts, which is what happened in 2005.

As an offset of the claims against him, the debtor was supposed to issue the creditors with shares in the newly founded Windhorst New Technologies AG.

Windhorst does not fulfil his obligation to increase the equity of Windhorst AG as a component of the disencumberment strategy.

16.03.2001 - The entrepreneur Ulrich Marseille provides Lars Windhorst, under a loan contract concluded before a public notary, with a private loan of EUR 10 million to increase the equity of Windhorst New Technologies AG. Subsequently, only token loan repayments are made to Ulrich Marseille.

Securities provided for Ulrich Marseille prove to be without value. The assignment of a claim for payment amounting to ten million euros against the Luxembourg banking house M.M.Warburg & CO Luxembourg S.A. has been formulated by Lars Windhorst in advance. The ‘Procurist’ (registered legal agent) of the bank has repeatedly provided false certificates of financial soundness for Lars Windhorst on the bank’s stationery.

A supposed placement of a first round of financing of WNT AG relates to the money of the deposed Nigerian dictator Abacha, which at this point in time has already been seized by the Luxembourg authority for the supervision of banks. On the events Dr. Bernd J. Fischer reports, former Director-General of the newly founded M.M. Warburg Bank (Switzerland) AG, Zurich.

The banking house M.M. Warburg & Co. Luxembourg S.A. later denies to Ulrich Marseille that a claim to payment exists, because the deal in question never took place.

2002 - The sequestration proceedings were initiated.

21.01./13.02.2003 - Lars Windhorst writes in a communication to Ulrich Marseille that at no time did he intend to use the load that was provided in accordance with the agreement in order to increase the equity of WNT-AG, but rather used it to meet demands for due payments from suppliers to and creditor banks of Windhorst Electronic GmbH and other companies, and used moneys for himself personally. Without the loan, the disencumberment strategy agreed between Windhorst and his creditors could not have been realised.

28.05.2003 - At the instigation of Ulrich Marseilles, Windhorst makes a statutory declaration.

The details of his declaration are false. In addition to the four bank accounts listed in the statutory declaration, there are at least 15 further accounts. Windhorst also fails to disclose holdings in companies in the Asiatic area. In addition he holds authorised access to a company account in Switzerland which is frozen in April 2004 because of strong suspicion of the concealment of assets.

16.12.2003 - Ulrich Marseille officially reports an offence of fraud in a particularly severe case. Since then the Public Prosecutors Office in Berlin has been investigating.

09.06.2004 - An application is filed to begin insolvency proceedings for Windhorst AG.

09.07.2004 - Windhorst makes another statutory declaration.

August 2004 - Windhorst reports insolvency for the three main companies of the Windhorst Group: Windhorst AG, Windhorst Electronics GmbH, Windhorst Capital Holding GmbH.

The Berlin Public Prosecutor extends the investigations against Windhorst because of the suspicion of insolvency offences.

27.10.2004 - In accordance with the Insolvency plan the creditors are offered a rate of 1.9129 % of their outstanding money.

28.10.2004 - Personal insolvency application submitted for Windhorst.

14.01.2005 - Decision of the Amtsgericht Charlottenburg to open insolvency proceedings about the assets of Lars Windhorst. 63 creditors with claims that amounts to 103 399 645,06 € contacted the court. With the insolvency plan being res judicata and the proportions of 1.9129% paid out to the creditors, Windhorst is debt-free.

The list of creditors gives details of the creditors and the amounts owed.

2005 - It becomes known that Windhorst is representing the British fund Sapinda International and is managing director of Vatas Holding GmbH based in Berlin.

15.12.2006 - At a session of the 8th Civil Senate of the Higher Regional Court Koblenz it is taken as a premise that Lars Windhorst committed fraud.

12.03.2007 - The Landgericht Berlin (district court) dismisses the action of Ulrich Marseille.

09.11.2007 - The verdict of the Higher Regional Court Koblenz dated 09.11.2007 establishes that there is much to indicate that Windhorst committed an agreement fraud against Ulrich Marseille. The verdict relates to the claim for damages against M.M. Warburg & Co. Luxembourg S.A. and their Procurist on the basis of the false certification dated 15.12.2000.

17.12.2007 - With the verdict of the 10th Civil Senate of the Kammergericht (Court of Appeal) Berlin-Schöneberg the appeal of the plaintiff Ulrich Marseille against the verdict passed on 12.03.2007 by the Landgericht Berlin is dismissed on the grounds that now that the private insolvency process of Windhorst is res judicata, the creditor Marseille no longer has a legitimate interest to take legal action.

2008 - According to press reports, in 2007 Windhorst acting on behalf of the investor VATAS commissioned NORD/LB bank to purchase 13 million shares with a value of EUR 100m, which are not now being taken from NORD/LB.