A court has liquidated a company co-owned by runaway businessman Ryan Schembri, former boss of the More Supermarkets chain.

Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon ordered the dissolution of Cassar and Schembri Marketing Limited after upholding requests by two of its many creditors who are owed an estimated €2 million.

The company went in the red while operating the debt-ridden More Supermarkets chain as it was unable to keep up with its debts, despite selling to third parties months before.

Mr Justice Zammit McKeon noted in his decision that no effort had been made to give the company a lifeline. On the contrary, the business had been “completely abandoned” by its directors, one of whom had fled the island, the judge said.

This decision follows numerous court cases filed by companies owed money by Mr Schembri, co-owner and director of Cassar and Schembri Marketing, who left Malta in September 2014 after alleged threats by loan sharks. The Sunday Times of Malta located him at an address in Dubai.

According to reports, Mr Schembri owed some €44 million to various investors who had been promised high returns.

Under the Companies Act, once a company is declared insolvent its assets are managed by a liquidator who has the authority to decide on the claims filed by creditors. The request for the company to be dissolved was made during a civil case filed by Galleria Properties Limited, which was trying to recoup more than €92,000 in arrears on the rent of part if its Fgura complex to More Supermarkets (Fgura) Limited.

A business is built on trust and everything goes haywire when this is absent

Another company, Alf Mizzi Limited, told the court that Cassar and Schembri Marketing owed it almost €150,500.

Etienne Cassar, Mr Schembri’s former business partner, told the court that the company was insolvent due to fraud and false declarations committed by Mr Schembri. In his considerations, the judge said not only had the company’s directors done nothing to try and pay off its debts, but there had been “a total abandonment of the business, with one director trying to face creditors while the other left Malta”.

“A business is built on trust and everything goes haywire when this is absent. A company that does not generate economic activity can never survive without creating revenue to pay off its debts. Therefore, winding down Cassar and Schembri Marketing Limited is inevitable,” the judge said.

He ordered the company’s liquidation, backdated to January 28, and appointed a liquidator to analyse the company’s assets and debts and file his report within three months.

The judge also set a sitting for March specifically on the company’s winding down.

Joseph Arrigo and Gianfranco Gauci appeared for Gallaria Properties, while James D’Agostino represented More Supermarkets (Fgura) Limited.

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