Poland's financial watchdog's supervision over GetBack debt collector assessed as unreliable and incorrect - NIK

According to Poland's Supreme Audit Office, the chairman of KNF, having the appropriate legal powers, did not exercise his right to join the accelerated arrangement proceedings conducted against GetBack.

NIK also assesses that the KNF's supervision of the debt portfolio transfer transaction of April 29, 2019, between easyDebt NS, Open Finance Wierzytelnosci (Receivables) NS and Hoist II NS closed-investment funds was not reliable.

"The analysis of the transaction prepared by the UKNF in this regard omitted its essential aspects, including the methodology for valuing debt portfolios and the actual value of recoveries for a given debt portfolio from the moment of its purchase to the date of valuation," NIK stated in the press release.

According to the NIK, to date, the 'GetBack scandal' has not been clarified, and the KNF, the prosecutor's office and the courts have not determined the value of the debt portfolios, the company's assets, including investment certificates, nor have they examined the reliability of the financial statements submitted by the company, despite their powers to do so.

Poland's financial watchdog KNF, in turn, assessed that some of the factual and legal findings, as well as the assessments and conclusions contained in the NIK's post-audit report, were the result of an incorrect assessment of the collected material, as well as a flawed interpretation of the law by the Supreme Audit Office NIK.

NIK stated that it had so far submitted four reports to the prosecutor's office regarding suspected crimes committed by members of the management boards of investment fund companies, listed companies, an expert and the deputy national prosecutor.

GetBack (now Capitea) was operating as a debt management company. It was established in 2012, and in July 2017, GetBack S.A. debuted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

However, the company's problems with the redemption of corporate bonds began as early as 2018.

In April 2018, at the request of KNF, the WSE suspended trading in GetBack SA shares. This happened after GetBack announced on April 16 that it was in negotiations with Poland's largest lender PKO BP and the Polish Development Fund (PFR) regarding financing of up to PLN 250 million (EUR 58.8 mln). PKO BP and PFR denied that information.

As a result of the whole scandal, the supervisory board of GetBack dismissed Konrad Kakolewski from the position of the company's CEO with immediate effect. Other persons in managerial positions also resigned.

Currently, there are over 9,200 aggrieved entities involved in the case, and the value of the damage caused is estimated at approximately PLN 3.5 billion (EUR 824.25 mln).

seb/ ao/