The Barcelona justice system has disqualified Joan Gaspart for five years due to the bankruptcy of the Husa hotel group, which entered bankruptcy in 2014.
According to the ruling, to which this newspaper has had access, the businessman – and former president of Barça – has been declared guilty for having breached in bad faith an agreement that he agreed with creditors in 2016. In that agreement – which affected the parent company of the group, and two of its subsidiaries, Hostelería Unida Dos and Hoteles Jagoe – the company committed to returning just under 10 million to creditors after obtaining a 95% haircut. Furthermore, apart from the agreement, Husa maintained the commitment to return close to 20 million to the Tax Agency.
After five years, the companies were forced to begin the liquidation process as they were unable to return the debts and, as established by law, the qualification piece was opened to determine whether the bankruptcy was accidental or culpable. The public prosecutor's office and the bankruptcy administrators, Josep Pujolràs and José Manuel Calavia, considered that the bankruptcy should be classified as culpable. And this week Judge Berta Pellicer upheld her claim.
Among the reasons for declaring Gaspart guilty, the following stand out: irregularities in the presentation of documents, maneuvers to transfer assets to new companies and thus avoid the seizure of assets and the collection of 579,000 euros that Gaspart claimed during those years despite the difficulties that was going through the business.
In addition to the disqualification – which prevents Gaspart from managing other people's assets and representing any person – the prosecutor's office requested payment of 200 million of the original debt but finally the judge has upheld the criteria of the bankruptcy administrators and has forced Gaspart to return the 579,000 euros that it earned during the years of application of the agreement.
The sentence is not final and can be appealed to the Provincial Court. In statements to this newspaper, Gaspart assured that his defense was working in this regard. In this way, the disqualification of his functions as a businessman, as well as the obligation to return the 579,000 euros, have not yet taken effect. The businessman recalls that in 2018, the bankruptcies of another 17 companies in liquidation were declared fortuitous.
