Land investors Per Arne Hanakam and Tor-Erik Nielsen lose control of their land empire after the opening of bankruptcy in the parent company.
Last fall tried a number of lenders to them accused of fraud investors Tor-Erik Nielsen and Per Arne Hanakam to bankrupt their group company North West Property.
To prevent bankruptcy, Nielsen and Hanakam instead asked the court to open reconstruction. Now, reconstructor Gunnar A. Haahjem has notified the district court that there is no basis for reconstruction in North West Property.
On Friday afternoon, Hordaland District Court opened bankruptcy in the company. Haahjem is appointed as property manager.
– The auditor has resigned, the accountant has resigned and the company has no liquid funds. The owners have also not made an offer for a solution that the creditors can agree on, says Gunnar Haahjem about the reason why bankruptcy was the only way out.
We have been in contact with Per Arne Hanakam, who does not wish to answer the questions or comment on the allegations in this article. We have not succeeded in getting in touch with Tor-Erik Nilsen after repeated attempts.
– The right move
Both Hanakam and Nielsen are under police investigation for serious economic crime, according to BA. Both have pleaded not guilty
Through North West Property, Hanakam and Nielsen have controlled large parts of the land empire which may now be about to unravel.
BT has previously mentioned that the investors must have raised at least NOK 195 million in loans from private lenders to buy and develop land in the Bergen area.
The bankruptcy means that Hanakam and Nielsen lose control of most of the land companies. Among others, 26 private lenders and companies who are represented by lawyer Inger Hygen are behind the bankruptcy petition.
She is happy that bankruptcy has now been opened in the parent company.
– We have believed all along that the right move would be bankruptcy, in order to gain control of the company, an overview of the debt and access to the underlying values, and insight into what Hanakam and Nielsen have undertaken, and which has led the creditors into this accident, says Hygen and adds:
– It is not certain that this bankruptcy, viewed in isolation, will increase the likelihood that the clients will get their money back, but it will prevent Hanekam and Nielsen from carrying out more illegal actions in the companies associated with North West Property, which will not serve the creditor’s interests, says Hygen.
Auditor resigned
North West Property is owned by Hanakam and Nielsen’s respective investment companies Spinnaker West and Flax Holding.
In the accounts for 2020, it appears that the company has provided an illegal shareholder loan. It is not clear who has received the loan and how big it is. The auditor resigned from the company last December.
In his submission to the district court, Haahjem points out that the company had an outstanding illegal shareholder loan of NOK 31.8 million at the end of the year in 2020.
Of this loan, 17.6 million should have gone to Flax Holding and 14.2 million to Spinnaker West.
E24 is aware that one of the reasons for the auditor’s resignation is said to have been how Hanakam and Nielsen wanted the illegal loans to be settled.
– Is there enough money in the estate to cover possible bankruptcy crimes and similar circumstances?
– There are no liquid funds to finance a comprehensive investigation of transactions, but we will investigate opportunities to collect the claims on the estate in order to get money in, says Haahjem.
– No comment
Lawyer Dag Saltnes represents North West Property, and not the private investment companies of Hanakam and Nielsen. He takes note of the opening of bankruptcy.
– There is not much to comment on. Bankruptcy was a natural next step when reconstruction is not successful, says Saltnes.
– Do you have a comment on the description of the illegal shareholder loans?
– I have no comment on that, says Saltnes.
– What do you think about the possibilities for the lenders to get their savings back?
– There are good opportunities. These are solid real estate projects, but it is important to remember that there is always risk with such projects. We believe that the underlying values are higher than the company’s obligations if the values are realized in the best way. But unfortunately it will take time because the values are dependent on the development and regulation of the properties, says Saltnes.
