Pavol Krúpa founded the financial group Arca Capital in 2003. He led it until 2018, when he left it. Today, Arca is in huge trouble and the game is basically where and how its fall will take place. But even though Pavol Krúpa is outwardly trying to act as the one who is also damaged by Arca and has even filed for bankruptcy in Slovakia, he himself is in a very similar situation, according to our information and analysis. His financial empire has defaulted on its obligations and the bonds issued are overdue. Krúpa himself has been strangely withdrawing from his companies since last year and transferring them to various people, including a well-known actress.
The acrimonious and highly personal dispute between Pavol Krúpa and the current main shareholder of Arca, Rastislav Velič, is arousing media interest. It is full of mutual attacks, assaults, accusations and criminal charges. But in the shadow of this "high game of financiers", the fate of thousands of people - creditors who will never get their investments back - is being played out. Certainly not all of it. Often it's a lifetime of savings or hard-earned money from a business. And one thing is already certain: not only Arca, but also the Pavol Krúpa Group has taken it from them.
"For several months now, unsecured creditors have been coming to us with unpaid promissory notes and bonds issued by Arca or one of its subsidiaries. Recently, however, these bonds have included those issued by companies controlled by Pavol Krúpa after his departure from Arca. These days we have several dozen such bonds on our desk and more are coming," says JUDr. Jan Langmeier, adding: "Based on the information we have gathered so far and our internal analyses, I dare say the following. We are witnessing the collapse not only of the Arca financial group, but also of Pavol Krúpa's financial empire. And neither of these groups are taking steps now with their creditors in mind."
At the first glance at the Commercial Register, it is striking that Pavol Krúpa is currently active in only three business entities. At the very least, he is transparently active. He is the chairman of the board of directors of Arca Industry Ukraine, a.s., the chairman of the board of directors of NFA Holding, a.s. and a member of the board of directors of OH Investments funding. No less than 14 positions of Pavol Krúpa in several companies were deleted in the course of last year. Including the fact that he is no longer the sole shareholder of KGI - Global Investments (as of March 12, 2020). This, by the way, is why after Arca Capital announced on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, that it would take over KGI - Global Investments due to default, Pavol Krúpa said he could not take it over from him because he did not own it.
"Given that more and more creditors are asking us to represent them in disputes with companies that owe them for defaulted bonds and were or still are associated with Pavel Krúpa, we have tried to map the whole situation more thoroughly. At the moment we have overdue bonds issued by several such companies. The events in their ownership or management structure have often been very strange in recent months and we are preparing to file criminal charges with some of our clients," says JUDr. Jan Langmeier.
Here is an overview of four companies whose bonds are not being repaid, in order to better understand what is going on around Pavol Krúpa's "financial empire":
Positive Energy, a.s.
The issue of bonds with a five percent yield was issued on 20 January 2018, maturing on 20 January 2021.
The bonds are not currently being repaid.
According to the latest financial statements published in the Commercial Register, i.e. the financial statements for 2018, the 100% owner of the shares of Positive Energy, a.Doudlebská 1699/5, 140 00 Praha 4
Pavol Krúpa was removed from the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors on 29 September 2020.
Arca Capital CEE, closed-end investment fund, a.s.
Bond issue with five percent yield issued on 9 February 2018, maturing on 9 February 2021 - At this time the bonds are not redeemed.
Company's registered office: Doudlebská 1699/5, 140 00 Praha 4
Although Pavol Krúpa was not in this investment fund in the capacity of a leading person, which is performed by Peter Janiga, it is for the reason that the Czech National Bank rejected Pavol Krúpa's application for approval to perform this function. This is because he was a member of the statutory body of two companies that have been sanctioned by the Czech National Bank in the past in the area of capital market business. Pavol Krúpa served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Arca Capital CEE.
Pavol Krúpa was removed from his position as a member of the Supervisory Board on 29 September 2020.
BGQ Czech, a.s.
Bond issue with five percent yield issued on 4 July 2018, maturing on 4 July 2021.- Maturity of the bonds is approaching.
Company's registered office: Doudlebská 1699/5, 140 00 Praha 4
Pavol Krúpa was removed from the position of Chairman of the Supervisory Board on 29 July 2018. 9. 2020.
The sole shareholder is KGI - Global Investments a.s. (formerly Krúpa Global Investments a.s.)
NFA Holding, a.s.
Bond issue with five percent yield issued on 8 January 2018, maturing on 8 January 2020.
Company's registered office: Doudlebská 1699/5, 140 00 Praha 4
Pavol Krúpa is still the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
The sole shareholder is KGI - Global Investments a.s. (formerly Krúpa Global Investments a.s.)
Serial star sole CEO
And then there is the separate case of Acquisition Capital, a.s., which has been under an extraordinary moratorium declared by the Municipal Court in Prague since 31 August 2020. Therefore, it does not repay the bonds it issued. At the beginning of November (3 November 2020), the company sent a letter to its creditors in which it proposed to extend the maturity of the bonds until 31 December 2026, without any default interest. Langmeier & Co. has this letter at its disposal.
At first glance, it would seem that Pavol Krúpa has nothing to do with this company, which has not paid its obligations to bondholders. But this is only a consequence of recent actions.
So what happened at Acquisition Capital? Here is a brief description of the events:
→ The history of the company begins in 2011, when it was founded as Arca Acquisition Capital a.s.
→ On 28 March 2018, when Pavol Krúpa left the Arca Financial Group, he became a member of the Supervisory Board of Arca Acquisition Capital.On the same day, Rastislav Velič left the Supervisory Board of Arca Acquisition Capital and the company was renamed Acquisition Capital.
→ A month and a half later, Pavol Krúpa was removed from his position as a member of the Supervisory Board in the Commercial Register and Martina Hekerová was registered instead.
→ Last year, on 6 August 2020, the shareholder Arca Capital CEE was deleted and a new shareholder was registered: KGI - Global Investments a.s.
→ Finally, at the beginning of this year, namely on 5 January 2021, the sole shareholder of KGI - Global Investments a.s. was deleted and replaced by the sole shareholder Acquisition Capital Property s.r.o.
→ With this last step, a joint-stock company with a share capital of CZK 2 million and issued bonds worth at least tens of millions of crowns has been taken over by a limited liability company with a share capital of CZK 20,000, which was established on 29 April 2020 and whose sole managing director is Martina Hekerová.
Who is Martina Hekerová? Actress currently known from the TV series Slunečná, but also singer and violinist. In December last year, a report appeared in the media that Hekerová is the only member of the board of directors of Acquisition Capital, a.s. The actress admitted that she had cooperated with this company before, but that it is a closed matter, and if she is still listed in the company's board of directors in the commercial register, then it is a mistake.
Subsequently, on 5 January 2021, her name was actually deleted from the register as a member of the Board of Directors. The problem, however, is that on the same day the change of sole shareholder was also registered, as described above. This became Acquisition Capital Property s.r.o., whose sole managing director is Martina Hekerová.
The fact that the sole shareholder of Acquisition Capital, a.s. is Acquisition Capital Property s.r.o., while the sole shareholder in Acquisition Capital Property s.r.o. is Acquisition Capital, a.s., is an absurd fact. Thus, the two companies own each other.
"The story of the transfer of a company that was clearly owned by Pavol Krúpa in the past and which has now issued tens of millions of crowns worth of defaulted bonds is, in my opinion, just a cube in the whole mosaic of immoral behaviour. For several months now, Pavol Krúpa has been quietly withdrawing from his companies or companies controlled by him. Some of them he is transferring to unknown people, others it is impossible to trace who owns their shares today and who controls them. This is the case, for example, of KGI - Global Investments," says Jan Langmeier. According to him, the changes in the ownership structure have subtly manifested themselves in the communication of KGI - Global Investments: "If we look at the press releases issued by this company in recent times, they still contain statements by Pavol Krúpa. However, the quotations are only given with the phrase `Mr Pavol Krúpa'. That in itself is quite telling."
"If I were to sum it up, we have a public battle between two financiers and two huge financial groups. Rastislav Velic and his Arca on one side, Pavol Krúpa and his companies on the other. Both Rastislav Velič and Pavol Krúpa as individuals are facing insolvency proceedings and are currently facing bankruptcy decisions. Their financial groups are in ruins. And both parties are not at the moment the least bit interested in how the creditors they have deprived of their finances can be compensated for the whole situation. That is why creditors must be proactive, address their situation and fight for their rights. The debtors will certainly not do this, they are fighting for their own existence at the moment" concludes Jan Langmeier.
Langmeier & Co., advokátní kancelář s.r.o.
JUDr. Jan Langmeier, attorney-at-law and insolvency administrator with special permission
