In a large-scale raid, the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office had the premises of the Adler Group searched. It concerns allegations of balance sheet falsification, breach of trust, and market manipulation.
On June 28, 2023, the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Criminal Police Office moved in with 175 investigators at the Adler Group. They searched business premises and apartments at several locations in Germany and Europe. Investigators are following up on suspicions of balance sheet falsification, breach of trust, and market manipulation. According to media reports, the focus of the investigations is the German subsidiary Adler Real Estate.
As reported by Handelsblatt, seven suspects are being investigated, including current and former managers of the real estate company. They are suspected of artificially inflating the balance sheets for the years 2018 to 2020. Properties are said to have been overvalued. In addition, there are said to have been preferential offers and sham transactions to artificially raise prices for real estate projects.
The allegations are not entirely new. For the 2021 financial statement, the auditors refused their certification. They justified this by saying that they had been denied access to certain information related to significant transactions.
The events eventually also drew BaFin’s attention. The financial supervisory authority is scrutinizing the financial statements of Adler Real Estate for the years 2019 to 2021. Additionally, investors and shareholders of the Adler Group had to endure that the company wrote deep red figures and posted a billion-dollar loss. Consequently, the shares have lost significant value.
Now, with the suspicion of balance sheet falsification and market manipulation, the next bad news has emerged. To protect themselves from financial losses, investors and shareholders can have their legal options examined, according to the law firm MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte, which specializes in capital markets and stock law.
Claims for damages may have arisen if the Adler Group violated its disclosure obligations and failed to promptly publish essential information affecting the stock price. If the suspicion of balance sheet falsification and market manipulation is confirmed, this may also give rise to claims for damages.
At MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte, experienced attorneys advise in capital markets law and stock law.
