The Financial Sector Supervisory Commission (CSSF) on 29 March 2024 announced in a that the Luxembourg District Court had decided to admit the wealth management firm Opportunité Luxembourg to the payment suspension procedure, following a request from the CSSF on 18 March 2024. The judgement also included the appointment of Yann Baden, attorney-at-law, as administrator to control the management of Opportunité Luxembourg’s assets.
According to law firm Loyens & Loeff, the is a debtor-initiated procedure that “allows a commercial company which faces temporary liquidity difficulties to avail itself of a stay until its financial liabilities can be met. An application for suspension of payments is made by filing a request with the district court and the Superior Court of Justice in Luxembourg.” It is granted only “if the debtor’s temporary financial difficulties are due to extraordinary and unexpected circumstances and the debtor has sufficient means to pay off all its creditors; and the debtor is in a situation where it appears likely that it can re-establish a proper balance between its assets and liabilities.”
Investor compensation scheme activated
The CSSF further announced, in a , that following the admission of Opportunité Luxembourg to the payment suspension procedure, the Luxembourg investor compensation scheme had been activated. This scheme reimburses claims resulting from the incapacity of Opportunité Luxembourg to “repay money owed to or belonging to eligible clients” or to “return to eligible clients any instruments belonging to them and held, administered or managed on their behalf in connection with investment business” up to €20,000. Clients have 10 years, starting from 28 March 2024, to submit a claim, noted the CSSF’s press release.
Established in 1997, Opportunité Luxembourg reported gross income (résultat brut) of €575,022 for the 2022 financial year, according to the annual accounts submitted to the Luxembourg Business Registers in July 2023. This is down from €1,174,557 for the 2021 financial year. Equity (capitaux propres) for the 2022 financial year stood at €624,000, down from the €1,132,951 reported for the 2021 financial year. Net turnover (montant net du chiffre d’affaires) for 2022 came to €1,116,633, down from €1,813,417 in 2021. A note to the firm’s annual report states that the Belgian branch was closed on 30 June 2023.
Delano has contacted attorney and administrator Yann Baden and Opportunité Luxembourg for comment.