The Koper District Court will again have to examine whether the compulsory settlement proceedings against FC Koper should have been authorized in the first place.

The Higher Court granted the appeal of Franci Matoz, Mandarić’s lawyer, who claimed that simplified compulsory settlement proceedings against the club should not have been launched because formal criteria were not met. FC Koper, which appears to be under the heel of Koper Mayor Boris Popovič, could not prove that it is a microenterprise – the type of company against which so-called simplified compulsory settlement proceedings can be initiated.

Court suspects that FC Koper’s debts are fictitious
If compulsory settlement proceedings were to be initiated, FC Koper would have to prove that the 2.2 million euros in debt the club owes to Swiss Sport Agency, a Marshall Islands-based company, are not fictitious.

The Court will have to investigate and determine whether the club filed a fictitious debt claim. The Court found that Mandarić presented enough facts that indicate that “the debt claims filed by the club’s largest creditor, Swiss Sport Agency, could be fictitious. The club did not even dispute Mandarić’s statements. Thus, the court is obliged to examine whether the debts are fictitious and whether this was an attempt to defraud the club’s legitimate creditors,” said the Higher Court in its ruling.

Help from a tax haven
Swiss Sport Agency filed the debt claim in June. The company said it helped scout players for the club. However, it now seems that this was merely an attempt by Boris Popovič to avoid repaying the club’s debt to Mandarić.
FC Koper owes Mandarić 1 million euros. The club had to declare insolvency after Mandarić refused to accept a debt settlement deal.

Eugenija Carl; translated by D.V.