Debt-Fueled Solar Firm GoldenPeaks Accused of Fraudulent Lending

Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.HomePMN BusinessDebt-Fueled Solar Firm GoldenPeaks Accused of Fraudulent LendingThe collapse of solar-power developer GoldenPeaks Capital followed a number of seemingly “fraudulent” transactions between some entities, according to a court-appointed administrator overseeing the group’s key Polish subsidiary.Author of the article:Konrad Krasuski, Donal Griffin and Silas Brown You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.bq87lzb7ah0vj]s2x{nsrviz_media_dl_1.png annual accounts for GoldenPeaks'(Bloomberg) — The collapse of solar-power developer GoldenPeaks Capital followed a number of seemingly “fraudulent” transactions between some entities, according to a court-appointed administrator overseeing the group’s key Polish subsidiary.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountLoans for tens of millions of euros made between GoldenPeaks entities last year may have been an illicit bid to shield assets from creditors, or “fraudulent conveyance,” according to Karol Tatara, who is handling the restructuring of the Polish subsidiary, Spectris Energy. The loans caused that unit to collapse, he said.Tatara is the only authority so far to suggest wrongdoing may have occurred as part of GoldenPeaks’ swift downfall. The Malta-headquartered company billed itself as one of the biggest solar developers in Central and Eastern Europe, propped up by $1.6 billion of loans from backers including Brookfield Asset Management Ltd., Nord/LB and funds overseen by Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG. But many of its subsidiaries have landed in insolvency proceedings in the US and Poland.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again“The actions of Spectris’ owners bear all the hallmarks of a so-called fraudulent conveyance,” said Tatara said in an interview in Warsaw.Adriano Agosti, a co-founder of GoldenPeaks, declined to comment. Daniel Tain, the other co-founder, also declined to comment. Representatives for Brookfield, Nord and Berenberg declined to comment.A spokesperson for parts of GoldenPeaks that remain outside of insolvency denied any wrongdoing. The group “wishes only to work closely” with Tatara “to ensure the swiftest resolution of any restructuring needed,” the spokesperson said.In the US, where multiple GoldenPeaks subsidiaries filed to reorganize through Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, creditors have so far attributed the firm’s financial difficulties to factors including restrictions on how much electricity it could sell, construction delays partly caused by unpaid invoices, insufficient equity funding and unsustainable expenses.Spectris was a key unit within GoldenPeaks’ sprawling network of entities. It carried out works related to engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC — a vital role in project finance. The Polish firm this year began failing to pay its suppliers and had its bank accounts frozen by the country’s tax authorities, filings show. It filed for Polish insolvency in May, a process that Tatara, a lawyer at bankruptcy firm Alerion, is helping oversee. The insolvency prompted other subsidiaries to file for Chapter 11. The snowballing collapse can be traced back to loans Spectris made to its immediate parent company in Malta last year, Tatara said. While the exact sum and reason is unclear due to a lack of documents, the Polish unit appears to have lent at least €70 million ($80.8 million) in 2025 and increased the size of a loan facility by €100 million, he said.Those loans weakened Spectris’ financial position and left it unable to pay more than 100 Polish subcontractors, who are together owed about 240 million zloty ($66 million), Tatara said. He is seeking to have a Polish court invalidate these loans.This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.“Many of them face the risk of their own businesses becoming insolvent because they have not been paid for the work performed,” Tatara said of the subcontractors. “There is a clearly visible link between the dates on which funds were transferred from Spectris and the moment when its payment difficulties and insolvency arose.”In a US bankruptcy case, a company can claw back money on behalf of creditors by proving that managers wrongly sent cash away from the core business. Fraudulent transfers can be an intentional effort to defraud creditors or inadvertent, meaning money was sent away at a time the business was insolvent. Both can be unwound by a bankruptcy judge, typically after a trial.The spokesperson for GoldenPeaks suggested that any Spectris loans can be attributed to the intertwined nature of the group. Spectris obtained goods and services from multiple other entities within the group, while many Spectris employees were contracted with its Maltese parent company, the spokesperson said. GoldenPeaks “is working extremely hard to find a solution so that any creditors of Spectris are paid in full and operations can return to normal as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.Spectris, just one of hundreds of companies in the GoldenPeaks group, is owned by GoldenPeaks Capital Services Ltd. in Malta, which is itself owned by another Maltese entity, filings show. Tain and Agosti each owned 50% of the group through more Maltese companies, filings show. Tatara said he and his team found a business in disarray, lacking “cooperating employees” or proper documentation, and are still trying to reconstruct financial records.The US bankruptcy court could evaluate GoldenPeaks as a single economic unit, Tatara said. This would help Polish construction companies receive the same consideration as creditors while also “disclosing the financial flows between” various parts of the group, he said.Tatara also queried transactions involving China National Building Material Co. he said. GoldenPeaks told lenders that the firm, one of the world’s largest construction materials companies known as CNBM, was carrying out its EPC work yet much of this was actually done by Spectris, Bloomberg has reported.CNBM paid funds to Spectris that were designated for EPC work, but the money instead appears to have been distributed to GoldenPeaks in Malta, according to Tatara. The Beijing-based company claims it’s owed about $50 million by GoldenPeaks, a US bankruptcy court filing shows. CNBM and lawyers for the company didn’t respond to requests for comment. —With assistance from Steven Church.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.