The Lublin-Wschód District Court announced the bankruptcy of the Kampol-Fruit company, which still owes farmers money for the purchased fruit. Is there a chance to recover the debt?
Finally, there is hope that farmers deceived by the Kampol-Fruit company will recover their money for fruit and vegetables delivered to cold stores in Milejów and Ryki. The District Court of Lublin-Wschód finally decided to declare the company bankrupt – reports the regional portal Lublin112.
This decision allows the trustee to sell the company’s assets to cover its liabilities. However, the question arises whether there will be enough money to pay the debts to the cheated suppliers and when they will receive them? According to a local portal, the trustee will first try to sell the plants in their entirety, so it may take some time. Meanwhile, farmers have been waiting for a year and a half.
As a result of the protests
It seemed that a fair decision in this case would come a year ago. When suppliers did not receive payments for fruit and vegetables placed in cold storage after the harvest in 2022, they repeatedly protested at the plant gates in December, January and February 2023. They did not agree to the company’s restructuring and the collective agreement proposed to the creditors. It assumed that the company would fully refund the debts only to banks and institutions. They were to receive only part of the receivables and in interest-free installments spread over up to 3 years.
Thanks to the protests, the whole of Poland heard about their harm. Under the pressure of these protests, the then Minister of Agriculture, Henryk Kowalczyk, submitted a report to the prosecutor’s office on suspicion of fraud, and the National Prosecutor was to take over supervision of the proceedings in this case.
The president was arrested, the deal was rejected
The result of the investigation was the arrest of the former president and owner of Kampol-Fruit, Piotr F., who was charged with 35 counts of fraud to the detriment of suppliers. The court temporarily arrested the former president, and the prosecutor’s office secured his assets in the amount of PLN 8 million. Piotr F. pleaded not guilty.
It has been a year since the District Court in Lublin rejected the application of the Kampol-Fruit company to approve an arrangement with creditors. The decision about the company’s bankruptcy seemed to be a matter of weeks, but farmers had to wait another dozen or so months.
The Lublin prosecutor’s office estimated Kampol-Fruit’s receivables towards suppliers at PLN 9.5 million. The company owes some farmers even several hundred thousand zlotys. If the victims recover their money, taking into account inflation and the increase in production costs, their losses will be irreparable.
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