Suspicious financial transactions between subsidiaries are raising concerns, and judicial actions are being prepared following the bankruptcy of the Belgian transport company Ziegler Belgium, according to a report in L’Echo citing a French lawyer representing former workers of Ziegler France.
Two months before Ziegler Belgium declared bankruptcy, its French operations were liquidated, resulting in more than 1,500 job losses. On 31 March, the commercial court in Lille issued the liquidation ruling. Judicial representatives appointed to handle the case questioned significant sums transferred to the group’s holding company in previous years.
Jean-Louis Borie, a French lawyer representing Ziegler France’s central social and economic committee (CSEC), plans to file a complaint with the public prosecutor. He told L’Echo: “There are many questions surrounding intra-group financial flows and foreign transactions. It’s a true maze. The financial issue is substantial, as is the lack of timely restructuring to minimise losses.”
In Belgium, the three court-appointed curators have confirmed they will investigate potential liabilities at the appropriate time.
