THE REGIONAL court in Trenčín has approved the sale of bankrupt chemicals firm Novácke Chemické Závody (NCHZ) to a Czech company, Via Chem, the Sme daily reported on January 2. NCHZ filed for bankruptcy in September 2009.
The court was asked to make a decision after creditors of NCHZ could not agree whether to sell the factory to Via Chem, which offered €2.2 million, or to businessman Miroslav Remeta, who offered €2 million. Neither of the potential purchasers promised to maintain the jobs of the approximately 1,500 people who currently work for NCHZ.
Via Chem is owned by businessman Vladimír Sisák, who currently operates another chemical factory in Ústí nad Labem and also owns one-quarter of the Czech football team Slávia Praha.
Sisák has been accused of violating several laws in the Czech Republic and of embezzling funds from the now-bankrupt První Slezská Banka, the Hospodárske Noviny daily reported. Moreover, a court in the Czech city of Litoměřice ruled in 2007 that Sisák had violated his duties while managing another person’s property.
