Crime: Vorkasse, Prominente, Pleite – wie Teldafax jahrelang durchkam
Rudi Völler und Thomas Gottschalk warben für den Stromanbieter. Intern wusste der Vorstand längst, dass das Unternehmen zahlungsunfähig war. Ein System, das auf Täuschung aufgebaut war.
On June 14, 2011, the energy provider Teldafax filed for bankruptcy at the Amtsgericht Bonn. Hundreds of thousands of customers were affected, many of whom had prepaid their electricity bills. The total claim against the company amounted to 656 million Euros. The disaster was foreseeable, as the board and supervisory board knew since the summer of 2009 that Teldafax was insolvent.
The Bundesnetzagentur had warned them earlier, the Hauptzollamt had searched their books, and even a convicted fraudster was influencing the company. In this episode of Handelsblatt Crime, Solveig Gode speaks with Handelsblatt reporters Sönke Iwersen and Jürgen Flauger, who uncovered the story in 2010. The discussion focuses on a business model based on prepayment and forced growth, with celebrities serving as confidence builders – from Rudi Völler to Thomas Gottschalk and Ole Einar Björndalen.
The central question is how such a system could continue to operate despite early warning signs for years. Moderated by Solveig Gode, produced by Christian Heinemann, there is a chronicle of Teldafax research by Sönke Iwersen and Jürgen Flauger available here. An exclusive subscription offer for all listeners of Handelsblatt Crime can be found at https://www.handelsblatt.com/mehrjournalismus.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
