Göttingen Group

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Göttinger Gruppe Vermögens- und Finanzholding GmbH & Co. KGaA
legal form GmbH & Co. KGaA
founding July 25, 1986
resolution June 20, 2007
Reason for dissolution insolvency
Seat Berlin , Germany
management Insolvency administrator Rolf Rattunde
Number of employees 819 in the whole group (2000)
sales 41 million  euros (2004), 9  million  euros (2005), 0.5  million  euros (2006)
Branch Capital investment company

Securenta Göttinger Immobilienanlagen und Vermögensmanagement AG
legal form Corporation
founding 1986
Seat Göttingen / Berlin , Germany
management Insolvency administrator Rolf Rattunde;
Jürgen Rinnewitz, Mariana Götz (Board of Directors)
Number of employees 37 (2004)
sales 7.296 million euros (2004)
Branch Capital investment company

The Göttinger Gruppe Vermögens- und Finanzholding GmbH & Co. KGaA and its main company Securenta Göttinger Immobilienanlagen und Vermögensmanagement AG were among the largest capital investment companies operating on the gray capital market in Germany . Both are bankrupt . “Capital of one billion euros has disappeared. Over 250,000 investors have been damaged and deprived of their retirement provisions . "

history

The company's origins lie in Securenta AG , which was founded in 1986 by Erwin Zacharias and four other shareholders. 1987 saw the start of the sales concept for the (among other forms of participation) investment model “ atypical silent participation ”, which was later sold as the Personal Tangible Value Plan (PSP) and from 1994 as the Pension Savings Plan. The Göttingen group had offered so-called atypical silent partnerships as a pension plan. With this type of participation, investors not only participate in the profits, but are also liable for the company's risks. Zacharias invented the “SecuRente” (formerly “Personal Property Value Plan”), a tax-saving model for the little man that became a bestseller in the 1990s. In August 1990 the group acquired SFR-Bank , which two years later changed its name to Securenta Bank AG . In 1992 the company and the associated subsidiaries were renamed the Göttinger Group . According to its own statements, this year the company had equity of over DM 100 million and sales of the same amount. Also in 1992 the news anchor Werner Veigel was won as a representative. A year later, the company entered the insurance business and Gutingia Lebensversicherung AG was founded. In 1994 the Göttinger Beteiligungs-AG and the Göttinger Immobilien Beteiligungs-AG were founded . The Göttingen Group became known nationwide in 1997 as the main sponsor of the soccer club VfB Stuttgart , whose jerseys featured the company's name until 1999.

On December 31, 2000, the sale of the Securente was discontinued, because of terms of up to 40 years investors continued to pay into the contracts. From 2004 the Master Star Fund was marketed with newly founded companies. The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) issued a payment ban in April 2005 due to unauthorized banking transactions by the Göttinger Group and in June 2005 it closed the Master Star Fund. On 31 October 2006 took over Fortis Group , the Gutingia Lebensversicherung AG . At the beginning of June 2007, the Göttingen Group moved its headquarters from Göttingen to Berlin and offered its Göttingen property for sale.

Public prosecutor

The Braunschweig public prosecutor's office considered the Master Star Fund's investment system to be a criminal offense, but did not come to the same conclusion with Securenta. She brought charges against the board members of bankruptcy and embezzlement .

Because the Federal Supervisory Office for the credit system a fraudulent pyramid scheme guessed early 2000 asked the then President Wolfgang Artopoeus of Lower Saxony's Minister of Justice Wolf Weber , an investigation for investment fraud , breach of trust and fraud initiate. The Braunschweig public prosecutor's office closed the case in 2002. This on the grounds that operating a “modified pyramid scheme” is not a criminal offense. "Deeds" before 2005 are now statute barred (2009). The public prosecutor also checked the business figures "regularly" and determined solvency, which is why no charges were brought.

In February 2010 the Braunschweig public prosecutor closed part of the investigations that had been ongoing since June 2007 against the board members of the Göttingen Group. A Ponzi scheme could not be determined because outgoing investors received their money from the deposits rates of other old partner and not from new shareholders. In addition, the obligation to make additional payments and the risk of total loss were pointed out, and certain returns were not promised. A fact that speaks for an investment fraud emerged from the prospectuses used neither on the promise of return nor the concealment of facts. Fraud could not be found because there was no evidence that intermediaries had been specifically trained to provide false information about sales. The fulfillment of the offense of infidelity was forbidden, since bad investments such as asset shifts between the companies and sponsorship money (as in the case of Tennis Borussia Berlin ) are at best covered by the entrepreneurial risk, but not punishable.

After the Partin-Bank went bankrupt , the Göttingen Group became insolvent at the end of December 2005, as investigations by the Braunschweig public prosecutor revealed. In September 2011, the Braunschweig public prosecutor brought charges against board members Jürgen Rinnewitz and Marina Götz of delaying bankruptcy and breach of trust , because dispositions had been made after the insolvency had occurred and are investigating other responsible parties. Rinnewitz accuses the Bafin that their payment ban was unlawful and that the restructuring efforts of the Göttingen group were undone.

In September 2013, the Regional Court of Braunschweig acquitted Jürgen Rinnewitz and Marina Götz of the charge of investment fraud and breach of trust, both in connection with the MSF Master Star Fund Deutsche Vermögensfonds I AG & Co. KG / Germanicum Beteiligungsstreuhand GmbH. The Federal Court of Justice confirmed the acquittal with reference to “a lot of gray area”. However, they were sentenced to 4500 euros each for capital investment fraud because of the false statement that an "exclusive distributor" was selling the fund.

The former CEO Erwin Zacharias was sentenced in January 2006 to 16 months suspended sentence and a suspended condition of 400,000  euros , because he had evaded taxes of almost one million DM on private income from real estate rentals and sales to the Göttingen Group from 1991 to 1996  . The public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig has closed further investigations against him, since he had left the Göttingen group in 2001.

Repayments

“The financial position of SECURENTA AG was tense in the 2004 financial year and also in 2005. [...] There were temporary payment stoppages. "

On January 1, 1998, the legislature tightened the Banking Act with the aim of "combating the gray capital market". As a result, the Göttingen Group undertook in a litigation settlement with the Federal Banking Supervisory Office to pay out the disputed balance to the investors in one sum and not, as contractually agreed, in monthly pensions with 7% interest on the remaining balance.

The Federal Court of Justice therefore ruled in 2005 that all SecuRente investors can terminate their contract immediately and that if it is proven that incorrect advice is given before the contract is concluded and for all contracts concluded after January 1, 1998, they are entitled to all deposited funds as compensation. This brought the company into considerable financial difficulties in the following years. In addition, the Federal Court of Justice ruled on December 3, 2007 that the members of the Board of Management could in principle be made personally liable for incorrect prospectuses .

In October 2006 Finanztest reported on Securenta's payment difficulties : Volksbank terminated its business account due to seizures of over 4.6 million euros, and payments were made shortly before the affidavit was made. After the bailiff was unable to enforce investors' repayment claims several times, the Göttingen district court issued an arrest warrant in 170 to 200 cases against just “a handful of those responsible” in order to force payment or information about the financial circumstances ( affidavit ).

"Around 90,000 victims of the Göttinger Gruppe Finanzholding have to reckon with the total loss of their deposits."

More than 7000 investors sued all former members of the board, who are mostly penniless, by way of direct liability . 59 pilot lawsuits were rejected by the Göttingen Regional Court between 2009 and 2011. After the bankruptcy was for the ratio property , only the liquidator , but not the individual investor process authorized by the delayed filing for insolvency suffered no loss, prospectus liability claims are time-barred and not proven , the plant system neither immoral , nor does it fulfill the offense of breach of trust , nor is it a criminal pyramid scheme. In the next instance at the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court , one of the pilot lawsuits was rejected in June 2010, but the judgment was overturned by the Federal Constitutional Court in January 2012. In March 2012, the Göttingen Regional Court decided in 4,250 lawsuits to commission an expert to investigate whether - and if so, since when - the bankruptcy of the investment model was systemic. Only one of the 10,325 lawsuits has become final.

Legal protection insurance companies refuse to provide legal assistance due to the alleged lack of funds of the defendant. The law firms TILP and Nieding + Barth of the ProtectInvestAlliance (PIA) advise against legal action.

The Göttingen tax office reclaimed unlawful tax advantages from around 250,000 investors after it had completed tax audits for the Göttingen Group in the summer of 2012 for the years 1994–2001. The tax office overturned some tax assessments because the profits came from fictitious loans with which the Göttingen Group had artificially inflated its financial volume.

Bankruptcy proceedings

37,600 creditors (excluding shareholders) had filed for insolvency claims amounting to 826 million euros. In the context of the insolvency contestation, the insolvency administrator demanded payments that the Göttingen Group had made before filing for insolvency. This affects distributions and settlement amounts paid out to investors.

The insolvency proceedings against Securenta AG were opened on June 14, 2007 at the Göttingen District Court. The applicant was an investor from Bonn, to whom the company had not paid the EUR 17,000 promised in a settlement in 2006. When he received his money, a preliminary insolvency administrator had already been appointed for Securenta AG and the Braunschweig public prosecutor was investigating.

Due to the relocation of the company's headquarters from Göttingen to Berlin and the company's insolvency application in Berlin , both the Göttingen district courts and Berlin-Charlottenburg are responsible for the proceedings. Bankruptcy was only applied for in Berlin. The insolvency administrator commented on this as follows: "The fact that those responsible for the company then filed for insolvency proceedings in Berlin themselves shows that they knew that their company was ready for insolvency, but if possible, the debtor company without much fuss" wanted to be buried in the cemetery of the cuddly toys "in Berlin-Charlottenburg ."

Consumer advice centers and the German Institute for Investor Protection call on investors to stop payments and warn against commissioning interest groups for a fee. “ARGE Securenta AG has invited almost all Securenta victims to an information event in Bremen on behalf of clients. The addresses were publicly available in the Göttingen Commercial Register ( BDSG ). "

According to media reports, the losses that investors are responsible for run into the billions. Around 1.5 billion euros have been paid into various companies in the group by investors; however, the total subscription volume is likely to exceed 10 billion euros.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Göttingen Local Court, Commercial Register Department B (HRB) 2103
  2. ↑ a b District Court Berlin-Charlottenburg Insolvency announcements Göttingen Group
  3. ↑ Unternehmerregister.de Local Court of Göttingen, Commercial Register Department B (HRB) 2103, published on July 13, 2007
  4. ↑ welt.de; A man fighting the bad image , August 8, 2000
  5. ↑ Rolf Rattunde: Report on the creditors' meeting . Berlin, August 15, 2007. District Court of Charlottenburg, 36g IN 262/07. ( PDF ( Memento of the original from July 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. , 2 MB, accessed on July 23 2009) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.boterra.de
  6. ↑ a b November 8, 2001: Annual financial statements and management report of Securenta AG 1999 , p. 22
  7. ↑ Creeping jurisdiction / non-remedial decision Resolutions of the Göttingen Local Court of June 7, 11 and 14, 2007 and January 30, 2008 (74 IN 222/07), of the Berlin-Charlottenburg Local Court of August 9, 2007 (36s IN 2619/07), and the Berlin Regional Court of September 14, 2007 (86 T 424/07); all not final.
  8. ↑ a b c Göttingen Local Court Insolvency announcements Securenta
  9. ↑ a b c Annual Report 2004, PDF ( Memento from May 5, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) at archive.org
  10. ^ Stiftung Warentest: Press release from the insolvency administrator Rattunde from August 17, 2007, download from test.de
  11. ^ The Bad Guys from Göttingen FAZ of June 11, 2007, accessed on November 18, 2014
  12. ↑ VfB Stuttgart parts with dubious sponsor Die Welt on February 26, 1999, accessed on November 18, 2014
  13. ↑ November 8, 2001: Annual financial statements and management report of Securenta AG 1999 , p. 20
  14. ^ Thomas Öchsner: Göttinger Group - Disaster for more than 100,000 savers. Süddeutsche Zeitung , June 8, 2007, accessed October 3, 2010 .
  15. ↑ Gamer offer: total loss? In: test.de . Stiftung Warentest , December 16, 2004, accessed on September 12, 2012 .
  16. ↑ a b Jürgen Gückel: " Rinnewitz:" It was only the Bafin to blame. " Goettinger group boss accused of infidelity declares rescue attempts ". In: Göttinger Tageblatt , May 31, 2012, page 9. Online version with a shorter title from May 30, 2012, accessed on June 1, 2012.
  17. ↑ 67c IN 315/05. In: www.insolvenzbekanntmachungen.de. Hamburg District Court, November 10, 2005, accessed on September 12, 2012 : “The insolvency proceedings were based on the admissible application of the gem. 37 KWG by the liquidation order of BaFin v. June 15, 2005 to open the order processor. "
  18. ↑ a b c handelsblatt.com June 16, 2007 Insolvency proceedings against Securenta opened
  19. ↑ n-tv.de; 170 arrest warrants against manager Göttinger Gruppe in distress , June 1, 2007 .
  20. ↑ a b Göttinger Tageblatt, June 16, 2007, p. 14
  21. ↑ a b Jürgen Gückel: "New wave of Securenta lawsuits flooded the district court". In: Göttinger Tageblatt , February 9, 2008, p. 9.
  22. ↑ a b c daserste.de ( Memento from December 31, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) ARD, [plusminus, June 5, 2007: Statement by the Braunschweig public prosecutor
  23. ↑ a b ra-hahn-mcl.de ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. January 21, 2003 Braunschweig public prosecutor's office closes investigations against the Göttingen group. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ra-hahn-mcl.de
  24. ↑ a b Jürgen Gückel: “Disclose test report. Wenzel: 'Justice is having a hard time with Securenta' ”. Göttinger Tageblatt, December 22, 2009, page 7.
  25. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: “ Expert opinions should clarify: When was the group bankrupt? Public prosecutor's office sifts through Securenta ”. In: Göttinger Tageblatt , December 19, 2009, page 12. Web link accessed on December 19, 2009.
  26. ↑ a b c d e f Jürgen Gückel: " Göttingen Group already insolvent in 2005 ". In: Göttinger Tageblatt , February 22, 2010, page 9. Web link accessed on February 24, 2010.
  27. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: "Göttingen Group already insolvent in 2005". Box "Criminal Law", "Civil Law". In: Göttinger Tageblatt , February 22, 2010, page 9.
  28. ^ A b Jürgen Gückel: Göttingen Group: Charges against two board members . In: Göttinger Tageblatt , September 30, 2011, page 7. Web link accessed on September 30, 2011.
  29. ↑ a b Jürgen Gückel: One year on probation. Securenta boss convicted . In: Göttinger Tageblatt of October 1, 2011, p. 9. Web link accessed on October 1, 2011.
  30. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: “ Last trickery of the Göttinger group is punishable. Two board members are on trial in Braunschweig for fraud with a fund ”. In: Göttinger Tageblatt , May 10, 2012, page 11. Web link with a slightly different title, accessed on May 10, 2012.
  31. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: “ Rinnewitz is supposed to go to prison for four and a half years. Braunschweig Regional Court: Plea in the trial of attempted rescue for the Göttingen group ". In: Göttinger Tageblatt , September 12, 2012, page 9. Web article from September 11, 2012 with shorter title, accessed on September 12, 2012.
  32. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: “ Acquittal for the Göttinger Group board members required. Defense accuses the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office of “downright meanness” and “lack of expertise” ”. In: Göttinger Tageblatt , September 18, 2012, page 8. Web article from September 17, 2012 with a different title, accessed on September 18, 2012.
  33. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: “ Fine instead of prison for board members. Göttinger Group ". In: Göttinger Tageblatt , September 21, 2012, accessed on August 16, 2014.
  34. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: “ Göttingen Group: acquittal for Rinnewitz final. "A lot of gray area and suspicion of criminal offenses" ". In: Göttinger Tageblatt , web article from December 11, 2013, accessed on August 16, 2014.
  35. ↑ Federal Court of Justice: judgment of December 11, 2013, file number 5 StR 162/13
  36. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: “ Göttinger Group. Management Board fines instead of jail ”. In: Göttinger Tageblatt , September 22, 2012. Web article from September 21, 2012 with a different title, accessed on October 5, 2012.>
  37. ↑ Zacharias behind bars . Göttinger Tageblatt, August 4, 2007, p. 9
  38. ^ A b Jürgen Gückel: "Erwin Zacharias arrested". In: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung , 59th year Madsack, Hanover 2007. 19./20. July 2007.
  39. ↑ Federal Council printed paper 963/96
  40. ↑ bundesgerichtshof.de Judgment of the Federal Court of Justice of March 21, 2005, II ZR 149/03, pp. 10-11.
  41. ↑ bundesgerichtshof.de Judgment of the Federal Court of Justice of March 21, 2005, II ZR 149/03, p. 4.
  42. ↑ bundesgerichtshof.de press release 51/2005 and judgments of the Federal Court of Justice of March 21, 2005, II ZR 124/03, II ZR 140/03, II ZR 149/03, II ZR 180/03 and II ZR 310/03.
  43. ↑ bundesgerichtshof.de Federal Court Judgment of 3 December 2007 II ZR 21/06; Press release No. 183/07 of December 3, 2007.
  44. ^ Stiftung Warentest: Göttingen Group apparently in trouble test.de, August 25, 2006.
  45. ^ Stiftung Warentest: Arrest warrants against manager test.de, June 4, 2007.
  46. ↑ Stiftung Warentest: Report damage now test.de Update, August 16, 2007.
  47. ↑ District Court Berlin-Charlottenburg , announcement of insolvency dated September 7, 2007, 36g IN 2621/07.
  48. ↑ a b Jürgen Gückel: Göttingen Group: Wave of complaints back. In: Göttinger Tageblatt . of July 23, 2009, p. 9.
  49. ↑ a b c d Jürgen Gückel: Complaints rejected. No compensation for victims of the Göttinger Group. In: Göttinger Tageblatt. dated April 6, 2011, page 9. Except for the headings of textually identical online articles dated April 5, 2011, accessed on April 6, 2011.
  50. ↑ a b c d Jürgen Gückel: “Göttingen Group: Tax office demands millions. 180000 new tax assessments have already been sent to investors / thousands of claims for repayment ”. In: Göttinger Tageblatt. from September 8, 2012, page 12. Except for the headings of textually identical online articles from September 7, 2012, accessed on September 10, 2012.
  51. ↑ Corinna Nohn: " Göttingen Group - first cheated, then cashed in  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ". Süddeutsche Zeitung of August 22, 2008@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.sueddeutsche.de  
  52. ↑ a b c Jürgen Gückel: “No pyramid scheme: Securenta model right”. In: Göttinger Tageblatt , December 17, 2009, page 10.
  53. ↑ a b c d e f g Jürgen Gückel: “Those responsible for Securenta do not have to be liable. Six claims for damages dismissed / sample for 60 other similar claims ”. In: Göttinger Tageblatt. dated August 27, 2010, page 9. Except for the headings of textually identical online articles dated August 26, 2010, accessed on August 27, 2010.
  54. ↑ Federal Constitutional Court, 1 BvR 1819/10, decision of January 24, 2012
  55. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: “Göttingen Group: Constitutional Court reprimands OLG. Nevertheless, new judgment ignores all witnesses / even district court contradicts next instance ". In: Göttinger Tageblatt. from May 26, 2012, page 11. Except for the headings of textually identical online articles from May 25, 2012, accessed on May 29, 2012.
  56. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: Expert clarifies whether Secu-Rente was realistic. 4,000 lawsuits against those responsible in the Göttingen Group enter the decisive phase. In: Göttinger Tageblatt , April 21, 2012, page 9. Except for the headings of textually identical online articles from April 20, 2012, accessed on April 24, 2012.
  57. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: Securenta: 10,325 lawsuits, one decided. Goettinger Group lawsuits. In: Göttinger Tageblatt , August 15, 2014, accessed on August 16, 2014.
  58. ↑ Nadine Oberhuber: Do lawsuits help those injured in Göttingen? Börse Online / graumarktinfo.de, June 16, 2007, accessed on October 5, 2012.
  59. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: Securenta: Millions of false tax assessments. Lawyer: “It is essential to contradict the basic decision” / incorrect thinking leads to double taxation . [sic] In: Göttinger Tageblatt. from September 15, 2012, page 11. Except for the headings of textually identical online articles from April 20, 2012, accessed on September 18, 2012.
  60. ↑ Jürgen Gückel: Securenta: Göttingen tax office can "not understand" annual notices. Pay taxes on losses . In: Göttinger Tageblatt. dated June 3, 2013. Online article dated June 2, 2013, accessed June 7, 2013.
  61. ^ Jürgen Gückel: Taxes calculated for air bookings. Göttinger Group: Tax office cancels first false tax assessments / tens of thousands challenged . In: Göttinger Tageblatt. of October 10, 2013, page 10. With the exception of the headings and "(Tageblatt reported)" textually identical online article from October 9, 2013, accessed on October 11, 2013.
  62. ↑ handelsblatt.com June 8, 2007 The Göttingen Group gives up
  63. ↑ Berlin-Charlottenburg District Court, Securenta bankruptcy announcements
  64. ^ Report of the insolvency administrator of Securenta Göttinger Immobilienanlagen und Vermögensmanagement AG, Göttingen from March 18, 2008; quoted from the blog of lawyer Hänsch, Dresden .
  65. ↑ verbrauchzentrale-berlin.de ( Memento of the original from June 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. June 8, 2007 Göttingen Group finally finished @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.verbüberszentrale-berlin.de
  66. ↑ vzsa.info ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Consumer advice center Saxony-Anhalt June 18, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vzsa.info
  67. ↑ dias-ev.de ( Memento from May 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) German Institute for Investor Protection eV, June 8, 2007 Insolvency proceedings initiated against the Göttingen group
  68. ↑ anwalt-a.de ( Memento of the original from July 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Lawyers Robert, Kempas, Segelken: ARGE Securenta @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.anwalt-a.de
  69. ↑ Die Welt, June 8, 2007