Penetrator in trouble
A WBJ news round-up
Penetrator brokerage house, the oldest non-bank-related institution of its kind in the country, is facing possible bankruptcy just as the public prosecutor and the Securities and Exchange Commission (KPWiG) are launching probes into improprieties within the company's management.
Andrzej Madej, Penetrator president, denied allegations that the company is in disastrous financial condition, but refused to disclose the figures that would, in his opinion, reveal an accurate picture of the brokerage's finances. He cited business secrecy and claims that the allegations were designed to destroy the credibility of the company, as well as to divert attention from the actual improper dealings of the deputy president, who has already been dismissed.
According to unofficial sources inside the company, Penetrator's debt amounts to some
zł. 10 million (E2.2 million), while the company lost as much as zł. 8 million (E1.8 million) over the last two years. ING Securities is known to be Penetrator's largest creditor.
The company has been ordered to pay zł. 3 million (E670,000) in a court ruling and has appealed against the decision. In the likely event of the appeal being rejected, the brokerage house will lack the necessary funds to meet its obligations.
"The resolution of the conflict depends both on the potential of a new shareholder, which the company is looking for, and on the attitude of ING Securities," the inside source has been quoted as saying.
The same source claims that Penetrator holds title to zł. 5 million (E1.1 million) in liabilities that it has been unable to reclaim despite their being long overdue. The debt is said to include zł. 600,000 (E135,000) in unpaid loans, the same amount in interest, zł. 300,000 (E68,000) in down payments and some zł. 3 million (E700,000) for the company's shares. Penetrator's debtors are said to include most, or all, members of the management and supervisory boards.
"It has led to a conflict within the management as the question arose who should pay back first," claimed the informer. "The situation became urgent, as the prosecutor's office had come to show an interest."
According to the company president, neither bankruptcy nor withdrawing from broker activities is considered an option by management.
Madej said that Penetrator had fallen victim to a campaign of misinformation.
"We suspect it is the work of the person who was the deputy president until recently. That person was dismissed for disciplinary reasons more than two months ago and is presumably trying to divert attention away from his real improprieties," he said.
Artur Kędziora, who until recently was Penetrator's deputy president, denies the accusations and says that he left the company of his own accord.
"It's a shame the management has not made a statement on the company's poor financial condition," Kędziora said. "It'll have to be done at the approaching general shareholders meeting and the data will then be entered in the national court register."
As a shareholder he is, in his own words, interested in the well-being of the company and has not done anything to bring it into disrepute.
Authorities were notified last year that Penetrator management had acted against the interests of the company. The complaint was filed by the Urząd Kontroli Skarbowej, the tax control authority.
