A German mobile operator has to go into bankruptcy. The reason is 70 million euros in tax debts. Read the curious case behind the story here.
Lycamobile is a popular cellular operator. Pre-paid cards in particular are popular. However, the company had to file for bankruptcy as early as May. As the “Handelsblatt” reports, tax debts of around 70 million euros are the reason for this. Overall, this case is very curious.
Lycamobile has long been in dispute with the German authorities. In 2013 Lycamobile Germany signed a contract with an Irish sister company. Thereupon it was of the opinion that you no longer have to pay sales tax in Germany because the services are no longer provided in your own name but against a commission for the Irish sister company.
Lycamobile insolvent: provider in dispute with the authorities for years
This was followed by numerous court hearings. All came to the conclusion that Lycamobile was very much subject to tax in Germany. The last verdict on this was in February 2021. From here it gets even stranger. On May 7th, Lycamobile Germany GmbH changed its name to Amalasandan Dienstleistungen GmbH. The bankruptcy petition followed on May 18.
When the provisional insolvency administrator Jan Roth wanted to go to the office in June to speak to the employees, he found that only the law firm Bauer & Kollegen is based at the address given. Amalasandan is only a subtenant there. There are no employees on site. In any case, the managing director of Lycamobile Christopher Tooley has been the only colleague of the German branch for years. However, this is based in London. As an insolvency administrator, Roth now has the problem that he cannot access any documents.
Android: A simple trick clears up your smartphone memory
Bankruptcy: Lycamobile has problems in other countries too
Lycamobile, which uses the Vodafone network, has had a dubious reputation for a long time. The accusation is that the provider at least tolerates the hustle and bustle of criminals, drug dealers and the like. This is because the pre-paid cards do not have a proper identity check.
Lycamobile has problems with the authorities in other countries as well. In France, several offices were raided in 2016. The allegations here were money laundering and sales tax evasion. There are also problems with sales tax in their home country Great Britain.
Nothing has changed for Lycamobile customers so far. As before, new contracts can also be concluded.