QXL Ricardo takes other shareholders in Allegro.pl to court

QXL Ricardo, a British shareholder of the country's top internet-based auction house, Allegro.pl, announced yesterday it has began legal proceedings against the company's other shareholders. The suit relates to a capital injection into Allegro.pl late last year after which the stake held by the British company shrank to a mere 8%. According to QXL Ricardo, the transaction took place without their knowledge. Przemyslaw Rogowski, who was assigned as the exclusive QXL Ricardo representative, allegedly made changes in the Court Register against the intentions of the major shareholder. These changes resulted in the fact that the only board member in the company, which at the time had a capital of zl. 4,000, was Arjan Bakker, a Dutch businessman. In December 2002, due to changes in the law, the company's capital had to be increased to zl. 50,000. The new shares were acquired by a company called NIAA, controlled by Magdalena Jezierska, who QXL allege to be an associate of Arjan Bakker. The head of QXL Ricardo has turned to the court in Poznan to forbid Arjan Bakker from selling the enterprise to third parties. "We fully trust that the court will recognize this case as an obvious theft of our investment," he said in a statement. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 20; Parkiet, p. 3) A.K.