Podravka, Jamnica and 199 other companies in the Kerum bankruptcy will only manage to settle a little more than one percent of their claims, and the bankruptcy administrator is seeking the maximum reward for seven years of work, as can be seen from the recently published bankruptcy documentation at the Commercial Court in Split.
Bankruptcy trustee Natalija Mladineo is seeking a €100.000 award for managing the bankruptcy of Kerum doo while 201 creditors collectively lose €96 million. Her award request will be considered by the court before the creditors receive the money.
Mladineo explains that she is entitled to the maximum award due to the "exceptional complexity" of the case. The law stipulates a maximum of 84.000 euros, but she is seeking an additional 16.000 because she conducted 230 court cases over seven years, held 50 sales hearings for 26 properties across Croatia, and had to reconstruct her accounting because the documentation was literally burned.
The manager explained why she did not file lawsuits against former owner Željko Kerum and his tax companies
In addition, in the final report submitted to the Commercial Court in Split, the administrator explains in detail for the first time why she did not file lawsuits against former owner Željko Kerum and his related companies. Many creditors expected her to try to return assets that were transferred to other companies before the bankruptcy.
The answer is simple: "There is no one to collect from."
Kerum doo claimed almost 60 million euros in loans from its affiliated companies. The problem is that these companies are either closed down or in bankruptcy without any assets. The three largest debtors are Adriatic dd (loans worth hundreds of millions of kuna), Sapor doo and Neva Kerum doo. They all ended up in bankruptcy without money to pay off creditors.
The court will hold a final hearing in the coming weeks to consider the final accounts and the proposed distribution. Only after that could creditors receive their money, most likely in 2026.
According to the final distribution proposal, creditors will collect only 1,2 million of the 97 million euros in debt, just one percent of what is owed to them. Podravka loses 19,3 million euros. Jamnica will not collect 23,6 million. Zvijezda will lose 15,7 million, and Coca-Cola Hrvatska will lose 8,6 million. The construction company Špica građenje will lose almost 27 million euros, and the marketing agency Publicus 12,6 million. The state will not collect 4,3 million euros in taxes.
Photo: screenshot facebook (Željko Kreum)
