The chairman of Zeevi Holdings, which has filed a $230 million claim from the Bulgarian government with the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITL) : The deal is legal.
The deal whereby Zeevi Holdings, owned by businessman Gad Zeevi, sold Balkan Air assets is “illegal”, Bulgarian Minister of Finance Mouravei Radev said earlier this week. Zeevi Holdings owns 75% of Balkan Air, and the Bulgarian government owns 20% of the company, which was privatized in 1999. The deal is estimated at $8 million.
This is the first head-on confrontation between the Bulgarian government and Zeevi Holdings, after Zeevi Holding’s filed a $230 million claim against the Bulgarian government with the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITL) in France. Zeevi Holdings claims that the Bulgarian government did not disclose all the relevant data when it bought the beleaguered airline.
Zeevi Holdings recently sold two Balkan Air assets: the management building at the Sofia international airport, and a Sofia hotel including a casino. A week ago a receiver was appointed for Balkan Air, after a Bulgarian insurance company controlled by Dutch group TVI sued the company for its $11 million debt.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 27 February, 2001