CHF 537 million: Court freezes assets of Radovan Vitek

Billionaire Radovan Vitek is known for his unscrupulous business methods. This is also known in the Valais holiday resort Crans-Montana. In 2015 he became the main shareholder of the mountain railway company CMA for 65 million euros. His fortune is estimated at $6.7 billion by the business magazine “Forbes”.

But now two former business partners and an American hedge fund are accusing him of not earning this money honestly. The two business partners at the time would have suffered major financial damage from Vitek and have been taking legal action against Vitek for years.

The prosecutors have won a stage victory: a Cypriot court orders that 13 billion kroner – or 537 million francs – of Vitek’s assets should be frozen, the NZZ reports. The money can remain blocked until the end of the hearings, when the judges decide.

Cyprus front companies

Vitek owns almost 87 percent of CPIG, one of the largest real estate companies in Europe. The acquisition of the Luxembourg company OPG was an important step in his rise to real estate boss.

According to a report by the Luxembourg financial market regulator, he would have used Cypriot shell companies for this, the NZZ reports. He thereby violated reporting thresholds and other regulations and therefore had to pay a fine of 1.5 million euros.

The notorious businessman is said to have secretly bought cheap real estate from OPG, causing damage to other investors. When asked by the NZZ, the CPIG says “the ridiculous and baseless claims will fail again”. The allegations have already been dismissed by a New York court.

(oo)