Folli Follie owners seek meeting approval
The Koutsolioutsos family, the main (but not majority) owners of jewelry and fashion accessories company Folli Follie, want to use the September 10 company shareholders’ meeting to absolve them of any responsibility for the financial collapse of the company.
The meeting’s agenda includes approval of the 2018 financial statement and the release of the board members and the certified accountant from any liability.
This concerns the period when sales, profits, cash flow, reserves and even the extent of the company’s sales network had been grossly inflated.
The agenda, if approved, would still leave the family facing charges of stock manipulation and money laundering, but these charges will be hard to prove, sources among the firm’s smaller shareholders believe.
Even the extent of the family holdings is disputed: Officially, according to Athens Stock Exchange filings, they own 35 percent, but market sources say their holdings are closer to 40 percent.
Sources from inside the company say approval of the 2018 statements is essential for the restructuring to proceed, in agreement with creditors.
On the creditors’ side, they say that no such “agreement” exists, nor is it likely that an agreement will be reached soon.
While the family is like to be released from liability by the shareholders’ assembly, market watchers are interested in what the second major shareholder, Chinese investment firm Fosun, will have to say.
