Újpest on verge of liquidation

A very interesting article here regarding the future of Roland Duchâtelet’s Hungarian club Újpest. The famous Budapest club are run by Roland’s son Roderick (photo) who bought the Liláks in October 2011 for just €1. He also took on the debts which were thought to be €1 million.

However the club’s finances are not appearing to be everything the Duchâtelet’s first thought.

According to the Hungarian tax authorities the previous owners accumulated a debt of around €15 million, all funnelled away offshore. A tax report listed fake contracts, false invoicing and VAT fraud that has caused this unforeseen debt, for which the Duchâtelet’s took on the liabilities for.

Remember Duchâtelet proudly stated that he did the due diligence on Charlton himself, so one assumes he did the same for Újpest.

The tax report also said that before Duchatelet’s takeover, between 2008 and 2010, the companies that owned Újpest FC were owned by offshore companies located in Cyprus and the Seychelles. This means that the actual owners of the club were all offshore companies, as were Charlton when they Duchâtelet bought them.

The companies involved in false invoicing have presented a winding up petition, at the same time Újpest reported fraud and forgery to the Budapest police department. Duchatelet is reportedly not willing to invest more money in the club, but now Újpest’s licence and league status is in serious jeopardy.

Roderick has appeared tearful in public and has already initiated the transferring of the license from Újpest FC Kft to a Newco, yet Újpest’s future is now in the hands of the Hungarian Football Association , who could force liquidation on the second oldest club in Hungary next week.