Three months have passed since Folli Follie announced (December 16, 2022) that the postponement of the trial of former company executives and others who committed a series of criminal offenses to June 19 seriously jeopardizes the Fashion Accessories Company’s reorganization plan. . Folli Follie, since February 2020, when (based on the decision of the court of first instance of Athens) a new management was appointed, headed by managing director Giorgos Samios, has entered a growth trajectory, but a fragile one. The company has opened new stores and aims to increase its growth rate by increasing sales. However, she did not escape the risk of bankruptcy as, among other things, 28 million euros worth of property and 3 million euros of her bank accounts were frozen in pre-trial criminal proceedings under Law 4557/2018 (against money laundering). . The asset unfreeze is also required to effect the transfer of assets and liabilities to the two new companies (OpsCo, AssetsCo) based in Luxembourg so that Folli Follie can be converted into a holding company, as provided for in the permit agreement.

The postponement to June 19 of the trial of Folli Follie founder Dimitris Koutsoliutsu, his son and wife, and 10 of their co-defendants, entails a further delay in the completion of the trial (at first instance) by at least a year and a half, according to what is reported Folly Folly. However, the delay, according to legal circles, is estimated to be even longer. This is due to the fact that after the supposed postponement of the elections to May, which will lead to the suspension of the work of the courts (usually up to three days before and after the elections), the consideration of the case may not take place even on June 23, given that there should also be a run-off of the elections. As a result, it seems highly likely that the case will be adjourned until autumn.

The company is considering alternative ways to implement the reorganization plan, which are still time-consuming, such as filing a request for release of assets with the competent Athens Board of Appeal. Recall that the decision to postpone the Court of Appeal for Criminal Cases, consisting of three people, was made due to the failure of lawyers to appear for consideration of cases of first instance, in connection with a change in Article 187 of the Criminal Code (for trials with a criminal organization), which they consider unconstitutional. In the opinion of the three-member Court of Criminal Appeal, the self-evident conditions for a fair trial within a reasonable time and for the proper administration of justice are no longer met. On the contrary, the Athens Bar Association argued that there was no question of statute of limitations for crimes. But in any case, neither the trial of the largest corporate fraud of recent decades, which began on January 10, 2022, is moving forward, and the two main defendants Dimitris and Tsorgis Koutsolioutsos were released from prison a year ago, nor the reorganization of Folly Folly has been implemented smoothly.