With the launch of bankruptcy procedure against A1 television station, around 30 workers will be left jobless.
The National Broadcast Council is set to deliver a decision on Wednesday, whether it will revoke A1’s license to broadcast. It is expected for this event to be highly politicized as the head of the NB Council is also a high ranking member of the opposition which has strong ties to the station.
On Tuesday, state-appointed trustee Aco Petrov said that A1 television station is insolvent and it meets the terms for launch of bankruptcy procedures.
Petrov told the court that the enterprise does not show solvency, i.e. it can not repay its debt. Furthermore, its bank account has been frozen since June 2 (45 days). Petrov's audit included all statements for 2010, while A1's accounting team submitted statements untill 2009. Petrov drafted the report on the basis of paperwork available at A1 television premises, including papers kept by taxation authorities.
According to his report, the broadcaster's total debt towards creditors and public revenue office amount to about 29.5 million euros. The broadcaster's capital is estimated to around 856.450 euros. Consequently, A1 can meet just 4.9 percent of its liabilities.
A1 TV owes 9.5 million euros to the UJP (internal revenue service), while the rest are spread out to City of Skopje, dozens of private companies, even the US Embassy. Violeta Duma and Donco Nakov, the lawyers representing the debtor, said they would appeal the court's ruling before the Bankruptcy Chamber.
Meanwhile, the trial of dozens of managers of companies seated inside A1 TV building - including the broadcaster's owner Velija Ramkovski – continued in Skopje's court. All defendants in the "Spiderweb" case, except Zaklina Gorgjievska have appeared before court. So far, they’ve all pleaded not guilty.
