21.04.2011 Eesti Ekspress: Businessman is accusing SEB Bank of racism

Link to the article "Businessman is accusing SEB Bank of racism"

Pjotr Sedin, the businessman at war with SEB Bank, argues that Gerd Krieger, head of the bank’s increased business risk division, called his company’s investors “Jewish terrorists”, with whom SEB will never have any relationship.

According to Sedin, Krieger used such an expression in a conversation with an official representative of Grove Invest in early March. However, as the expression was used in a private conversation, no one can protect their honour and dignity in a lawsuit.

Krieger categorically denies making any such statements. The bank also sent an official explanation to Sedin, arguing that there is no reason to doubt Krieger. Copies of the original letter were also sent to SEB CEO Annika Falkenberg and majority owner Marcus Wallenberg.

18.02.2011 Äripäev: Riho Unt from SEB hides a business relationship

The ten-year career of Riho Unt, Chairman of the Management Board of SEB, is impressive. However, Unt's speedy progress up the ranks has a hidden side - in addition to his work at the bank, he is directly connected to a company whose interests cross with the interests of his home bank.
 

The client feedback on the website of an advertising agency contains praise from Riho Unt from SEB: "We can use the required amount of human resources in our campaigns whenever necessary without having to motivate and develop them at other times. The people of SalesForce have proven themselves."

Unt knows what he's talking about, because no other client of OÜ SalesForce has a better overview of the company's activities. Unt is one of its founders and a hidden owner. The company has been SEB's partner in many campaigns. Although the Commercial Register shows that Unt left the circle of owners in 2004, he actually hid his shareholding behind the name of a friend. We discovered this when we started investigating a hint about a company called Ehitusüksus.

It is a construction company that has never earned huge profits from its activities. The company has failed to submit reports in recent years, but is still operating. Ehitusüksus has taken out leases on four unfinished private houses in Loo, Jõelähtme Municipality. These leases are valid until 2028 and have raised a number of questions.

The company that owns the houses, OÜ Swedinvest, is bankrupt. Their main creditor is SEB Bank. Trustee in bankruptcy Martin Krupp has tried to sell the houses many times, but without success. Considering the condition the houses are in, finding a buyer for them would be a true miracle. But buyers may also be put off by the long-term leases, and preventing the bank from getting its money may be the reason why these leases were entered into in the first place.

We were unable to get the trustee in bankruptcy to comment on this. Unt also seems to feel uncomfortable about the subject. He doesn't answer his phone. When we sent him a letter, the answer came from the bank's press officer, who confirmed that our question about his involvement was a surprise for Unt. "I was one of the founders of OÜ SalesForce 9 years ago, but I gave up my shareholding 7 years ago when I was still working in the Development Department of Ühispank. Any connections between SUM Trust and Ehitusüksus appeared after that," explains Unt. 

SalesForce founded its subsidiary Ehitusüksus in 2005. This was after Unt had officially given up his shareholding in the advertising company. The strange thing is that it was still Unt who made a share capital contribution for the foundation of Ehitusüksus. This is evidenced by the payment made to the company's start-up account in Swedbank. Proof of this can be found among other official documents of Ehitusüksus in the Commercial Register. Moreover, Ehitusüksus was registered at the same address as Unt's apartment.

Some time later, the shareholding in Ehitusüksus was transferred to the newly-created OÜ SUM Trust. This company was also registered at the same address as Unt's apartment. These are significant details that Unt seems to forget in his initial answers to the journalist. We send him more questions, asking him to specify. Unt responds: "I sold my shareholding in SalesForce 7 years ago. In this case (share capital contribution, registering the company at his own address - Ed.) I helped some good acquaintances of mine to establish a company 6 years ago by lending them both money for the share capital contribution and we agreed that they repay the money for start-up capital and register a new address for the company as soon as they can. I didn't have or get a shareholding in the new company, just Siim Mägi (the owner of SUM Trust, Ehitusüksus and SalesForce) didn't have a place of residence where to register the company." Mägi is a lawyer who works in Glikman's firm. In addition to SUM Trust that belongs to him, Robert Valtsov is a minority shareholder in Ehitusüksus.

Mägi and Valtsov repeat the same and assure us that Unt has never had a shareholding in Ehitusüksus. Unt just helped them out, lent them money and allowed them to register the company at his own address.

Finding an address in Tallinn for registering a company doesn't seem to be a mission impossible. It is also strange that Unt had to make the payment from his own account. We could probably accept their explanations as satisfactory, but they are not very convincing.

Äripäev has information that Unt managed the work of the companies whilst working in SEB also after 2004. We cannot disclose all the facts to known to us to protect our sources. However, we have checked the facts and are convinced that Unt did not sell his holding in SalesForce, but hid it with the help of his friend.

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14.02.2011 DELFI: SEB's property companies belong to a company registered in Holland.

Last year SEB hid its Baltic property companies Estectus, Litectus and Latectus in a company registered in Holland, claiming that it wishes to focus on its principal activities, i.e. banking.


A reader who contacted Delfi Economy noted that in 2010 SEB moved its property companies under the Dutch company Warehold B.V. The obvious reason is that the bank wants to save on taxes and make its accounting look better.

SEB's head office in Sweden decided to move the Baltic property companies of SEB Estectus, Litectus and Latectus created in the end of 2008 and in 2009 under the Dutch company Warehold B.V. in February 2010. It is difficult to find any official indication or confirmation that the company belongs to the listed SEB Group. SEB's Internal Communications Manager Piret Seeman said that SEB's property companies Estectus, Latectus and Litectus were consolidated into the SEB Group in 2010 under the name Baltectus. "The reason is simple - we want the management of all three companies to be able to focus on SEB's principal activities, which is banking. SEB AB owns 100% of Baltectus and this is where Baltectus was consolidated in the structure of the SEB Group. The economic results of Baltectus are shown under the results of the Baltic Division," says Seeman. Holland was chosen as the place where Baltectus was registered, explains Seeman, because they have the structures suitable for various property companies.

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12.01.2011 Äripäev: Andres Sõnajalg beat SEB Bank in court

The judgement of the Tallinn Circuit Court, which terminated the legal dispute of Andres Sõnajalg with SEB Bank, entered into force at the start of January and resolved the case finally in favour of Sõnajalg.

Sõnajalg explained that the dispute was about a private loan taken almost 15 years ago and the bank's attempts to obstruct the repayment of this loan during a certain period. "Ten years ago, the bank found a suitable opportunity to seize Andres Sõnajalg's bank accounts due to an earlier legal dispute, making it impossible for him to transfer his mortgage loan repayments. The bank also refused to accept my loan repayments in cash," said Sõnajalg.

The bank then terminated his mortgage loan agreement and demanded immediate repayment of the entire loan, claiming that Sõnajalg's loan was in arrears. Sõnajalg claims that he did not agree with this and took the matter to court, requesting that the court ascertain the validity of the loan agreement and his right to repay the loan on the basis of the payment schedule set out in the agreement instead of having to repay it as a lump sum.

Sõnajalg says that the court agreed with him and found that the bank itself made the repayment of the loan impossible and that in a situation like this, the bank had no right to decide that Sõnajalg was in breach of agreement and to terminate its agreement with him.

"I am pleased that the Estonian court system has ascertained the truth and justice has been done. Although this ruling does not change much in my life as I repaid the loan to the bank a long time ago, I believe that this is a positive message to many Estonians, who feel that banks have been way too harsh with them," he added.

"I dare to believe that this is also a pretty direct message to the former Ühispank, whose client I used to be, that they should not try to use such seemingly correct schemes in their client communication and should focus on finding fair solutions to every situation instead," added Sõnajalg.

ERR reports that the Circuit Court decided to annul the ruling made by the County Court due to incorrect implementation of the provisions of material and procedural law. The court ordered the defendant to pay 85 per cent of the plaintiff's procedural expenses and the plaintiff to pay 15 per cent of the defendant's procedural expenses.

The fight for justice is not hopeless!

Link to Äripäev article 'Andres Sõnajalg beat SEB Bank in court'  

12.01.2011 E24. The number of enforced sales may be higher than presumed

According to the Land Register, the number of enforced sales in the last year was 1409, which is two and a half times more than in 2009. However, the actual number of people who have lost their property may be even higher.

Namely, the figures in the Land Register only represent the enforced sales where the property changed owners on the basis of a bailiff's application. An amendment to law entered into force last year, which allows people to use bank loans to buy property at auctions – it was not possible before.

In cases like these, the bank who grants the loan sends the papers to the notary, who then sends an application to the Land Register. This means that these enforced sales are not recognised as transactions concluded by bailiffs and they become part of overall property statistics, which makes it difficult to highlight them separately.

Member of the Management Board of the Estonian Chamber of Bailiffs and Trustees in Bankruptcy Mati Kadak said that transactions where a property on enforced sale was purchased with a bank loan comprised one half of his total portfolio last year. "Financing purchases with loans became rather popular last year", he noted.

716 of the 1409 proven enforced sales in the last year concerned property taken from private persons to cover their debts and 693 concerned legal entities. The relevant figures in Tallinn were 197 and 266, respectively.

Link to E24 article 'The number of enforced sales may be higher than presumed'