In posts No. 122, No. 128 and No. 129 I wrote about the troubling situation at now bankrupt securities trading and brokerage firm Van der Moolen. Time for an update.
At today's general meeting, the situation looked even more grim than previously known to the public. Supervisory director Zwart, who currently is also acting as managing director, explained that things really went down hill when former CEO Richard den Drijver entered the stage. As reported in one of today's newspapers:
Commissaris en bestuurder Peter Zwart stelde tijdens de bijeenkomst dat het beleid van de onderneming de afgelopen jaren zwalkend is geweest. „Er zijn tientallen initiatieven gestart die alleen geld hebben gekost.” Hij zei verder dat de ondergang te wijten is aan de binnenkomst van bestuursvoorzitter Richard den Drijver in 2005.In juli werd de topman door de commissarissen gedwongen om terug te treden. Kort daarna bleek dat Van der Moolen aan de rand van de afgrond stond. Uiteindelijk mislukte een reddingspoging van de commissarissen en werd het bedrijf in september faillissement verleend.
Den Drijver, still named as "Advisor to the board" on the company's website, is said to have filed a claim of E 400k in that capacity with the trustees in bankruptcy without actually having advised (a seemingly bold move) and apparently also sold Van der Moolen stock in violation of a clear lock-up arrangement in August 2009 when the share price was tanking in view of the company's dire financial situation (an even bolder move). If true, that's tricky stuff to pull off in (t)his situation.
This is not where the story ends, however, in view of the announcement by the VEB that it will initiate an inquiry proceeding against Van der Moolen before the Enterprise Chamber. That move was already anticipated. The big questionmark now is what the trustees in bankruptcy will do. As to liability proceedings, they're in the driving seat. Time will tell.
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