10-07-2005, 01:03 AM
Update on QXL Legal Battle to Regain Control of QXL Poland (Allegro.pl)
from company press release:
from company press release:
Quote:28 September 2005
Poland Update
The Company has recently received further information regarding the financial position of QXL Poland Sp z o.o. (QXL Poland), the ownership of which is currently the subject of a number of legal claims in Poland. This information was provided by the court-appointed administrator of QXL Poland and has not been reviewed or audited by or on behalf of the Companys directors. However it states that for the year ended 31 March 2005, QXL Polands revenues were approximately £8.8 million (2004: £3.8 million) and its pre-tax profits approximately £3.7 million (2004: £0.9 million). From the limited information available to the Company, the Company believes that QXL Poland has continued to grow rapidly since 31 March 2005 it currently has over 1 million items listed on its site and has recently launched a major brand-building campaign.
The development of QXL Poland is consistent with the Companys plans and forecasts for the business in the autumn of 2002 when the Company (without receiving any consideration) allegedly consented to the transfer of 92% of QXL Poland to a company connected with former country manager, Arjan Bakker, and his common-law wife, Magdalena Jezierska. It therefore provides further substantiation for the Companys case and reinforces the Companys belief that the Polish courts will ultimately decide that the transaction was fraudulent and should be declared void.
No dates have yet been fixed either for the resumption of hearings in the main civil case or the commencement of hearings in the criminal case against Arjan Bakker and Przemyslaw Rogowski, although the Company still anticipates that these will take place this autumn.
In a separate development, the Higher Disciplinary Tribunal at the Polish National Bar Association yesterday considered the appeals of the Company and Mr. Rogowski against last years decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Poznan Bar Association. The Poznan Tribunal had decided that Mr Rogowski should be barred from practising as a lawyer for 5 years for a number of breaches of his professional obligations relating to QXL Poland. The Higher Tribunal accepted the Companys arguments that the breaches in question warranted a more severe penalty than the Poznan Tribunal had determined. It also decided that the Poznan Tribunal should have heard evidence from a number of additional parties on behalf of Mr Rogowski (in particular Arjan Bakker and Magdalena Jezierska) before coming to its decision. It has therefore sent the case back to the Poznan Tribunal so that this evidence can be heard and a new decision taken in the light of the Higher Tribunals directions and any new information provided. The Company believes that no material new evidence will result from the hearing of the additional witnesses. It therefore considers that the process will ultimately lead to a similar decision, but with a more severe penalty against Mr Rogowski.
Further information regarding these issues will be announced in due course.