The Vienna commercial court has opened bankruptcy proceedings against Johannes Werner Krauss, co-owner of Serbia’s former national broadcaster TV Avala.
According to a court statement that Balkan Insight has obtained, Krauss has gone bankrupt after becoming involved in illegal “currency exchange transactions with foreign partners.
“The debtor [Krauss] has unlawfully misused and lost clients’ money,” the statement said.
Krauss, who had a law firm in the centre of Vienna, has assets worth 1,437,548.11 euro while his liabilities and indebtedness exceed the amount. (liabilities – 2,757,621.63, indebtedness – 1,320,073.52).
Austrian police told BIRN that the lawyer had been interrogated but did not reveal more details.
According to the Serbian business registry, he owned 48.41 per cent of the now defunct broadcaster, which lost its broadcasting licence on October 26, 2012.
The Serbian broadcasting agency, RRA, said the broadcaster failed to pay fees to the agency and had failed to produce a programme scheme, as national broadcasters are obliged to do.
Avala obtained a national frequency in 2006. It faced financial problems for years. Staff were not paid for months before it closed and the station’s debts by 2010 amounted to €25.7 million.
Last week, the RRA received applications from two TV stations wishing to obtain Avala’s national licence.
Source Balkans
