Tax Saabotage: Muller And Saab Board (=Muller) Target Of Swedish Government, Paper Says

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Despite Victor Muller’s assurances that he is innocent, that he has not been accused of any crime, and that Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority most likely only wants to invite him for a friendly chat, Sweden’s Göteborgs-Posten thinks it knows who is the target of the investigation: Victor Muller, and Saab’s board. In the end, Victor Muller was alone on board. Says the paper:

“From what Göteborgs-Posten learned, there is a clear link between the prosecutor’s recent suspicions about crimes by SAAB Automobiles former board and how Victor Muller was paid for his work from February 2010 to the bankruptcy in December 2012.”

“When Victor Muller, a major owner of Spyker Cars which bought SAAB Automobile in February 2010, joined SAAB’s leadership as chairman of the board, there was no written contract about how and for what he would get paid. Even so, invoices started to arrive from Muller’s companies in Latin America Tug Holding on the Dutch Antilles.”

An international tax consultant tells TTAC that disputes about consultancy agreements vs. salaries are common: “If there is a dispute, they ask first for a contract. If there is none, bad news. If there is a contract, then they look for emails in which the contract was negotiated. If the contract just appeared out of thin air, bad news. Then they look where the money went.”

According to Göteborgs-Posten, the money did not go to the Tug company, “but to Muller’s private bank account, as the investigations of the tax authorities show.” Apparently in a letter to Muller, those tax authorities worte:

“The evidence supports the conclusion that the purpose was that SAAB should give you compensation and that you would avoid paying taxes for this.”

Until SAAB’s bankruptcy in December 2011, about $1.2 million were paid in consulting fees to Victor Muller, the paper says.

“It was only in September 2011 that Victor Muller, when he was the only person in the leadership and the crisis in SAAB was escalating, that the consulting fees were regulated in a written agreement. The payments where thereby secured.

The Tax Authorities sees this entire arrangement with consulting fees instead of salary for the job as chairman of the board as a ploy to make Victor Muller avoid paying taxes in Sweden for his work in SAAB Automobile. In September 2012 the Tax Authorities therefore decided to demand Victor Muller pay approx. 2 million SEK ($300,000) in tax.”

The paper concludes:

“The responsibility for errors in the conduct of SAABs accounting and reporting, and that SAAB paid a consulting fee instead of salary and that a substantial tax shortfall has happened, rests with the board of SAAB.“

In the end, Victor Muller sat alone on the board. On June 23, 2011, Saab’s General Counsel Kristina Gers stepped down from the board, a week after two union representatives defected.

In the meantime, Muller said through his favorite mouthpiece Saabsunited , that “the contract was approved by the National Debt Office in 2010.” According to the information given to Göteborgs-Posten, no contract existed in 2010. The Debt Office told the paper that all it had to approve whether the “compensation was reasonable,” and that how taxes are paid would be up to Saab and Muller.

(Hat tip to a friend in Sweden for a translation better than Google Translate.)
Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Binkje Binkje on Aug 16, 2013

    Spyker forced to delist.

  • Binkje Binkje on Aug 17, 2013

    Spyker N.V. : TRADING OF SPYKER SHARES ENDS PER 13 SEPTEMBER 2013 Fri Aug 16, 2013 12:05pm EDT Zeewolde, the Netherlands, 16 August 2013 - Spyker N.V. ("Spyker") will not return to the Official Market of NYSE Euronext; the last trading date of the Spyker shares is 13 September, 2013. The ordinary shares of Spyker have been allocated to the special listing segment of NYSE Euronext Amsterdam ("strafbankje") since 13 September 2011 following Spyker's then subsidiary Saab Automobile AB filing for administration. During the first year of the listing measure of NYSE Euronext, Spyker started a restructuring process in order to return to the Official Market. Applicable listing regulations allow two extensions. Since its restructuring process was not finalized within one year, Spyker requested extensions per September 13, 2012 and March 13, 2013. Both requests were granted by NYSE Euronext. The last extension ends on 13 September, 2013. Despite the restructuring measures taken Spyker has not recovered to the extent that it can return to the Official Market. Consequently, Spyker will not apply for a return to the Official Market. As a result Spyker will delist, effective per 16 September 2013. The last trading date will be 13 September 2013 close of trading, which trades will settle on 18 September 2013. After the delisting, Spyker will continue to facilitate electronic transfer of its shares via Euroclear Amsterdam for the near future. Shareholders should however realize that after the delisting they will no longer be able to trade the shares over the stock exchange, and that no meaningful off-exchange trade is expected to occur.

  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
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