In a judgement handed down by Magistrate Tonio Mallia,
Wallace Fino of Sliema, Christopher Gauci of Gharghur and Victor Zammit of
Birkirkara, owners and directors of the Price Club Supermarket chain were found
guilty of wrongful trading and fraudulent trading.
The Magistrate decided to lift the
corporate veil and the three men will therefore will have personal liability for their corporate activity imposed
on them.
In his judgement, Magistrate Mallia said that despite sales of Lm22
million, the Price Club owners led the company to bankruptcy thanks to decisions that benefitted more their personal interests than those of the company.
The magistrate slammed the owners what he described as “gross
incompetence" and "abuse" of their positions within the company,
leading to its unnecessary liquidation.
However, he ruled out that the owners' responsibilities were limited to their
share capital in Price Club Holdings, so he was not in position to order them
to pay damages to their creditors. Nonetheless, the creditors can seek
compensation from the assets of the Price club group.
The liquidator, Andrew Borg Cardona, wanted to "lift the veil" and find the whole group
of companies responsible for the insolvency of Priceclub Operators.
