Lars Abild, Journalist, Economic Weekly
Mar 25, 2025
The showdown between Pandora and Kasi ApS is now getting even more intense: So far, the investigation by both NSK, the fraud police, and curator Boris Frederiksen in the bankruptcy estate of Kasi ApS has reportedly been slowed down by the fact that they could not obtain key documents regarding the controversial earn-out agreement, as well as documentation for historical bonus payments to senior employees in Pandora. Økonomisk Ugebrev has learned that NSK has now received assistance from the courts to obtain new key documents in the case, which could be crucial in the further course of events, writes journalist Lars Abild
A crucial obstacle in the investigation by NSK, i.e. the Fraud Police, into the case surrounding Kasi's earn-out of several hundred million, may now have been cleared.
According to information from Økonomisk Ugebrev, the Fraud Police have just been handed over key documents in the case, which could be crucial in proving whether Pandora has engaged in double bookkeeping, which has cost Kasi ApS several hundred million.
According to the information, the police have been handed over the documents with the help of the court, and this has been crucial because neither the police nor the bankruptcy estate of Kasi ApS have previously been able to obtain the documents.
Among other things, because of a far-reaching duty of confidentiality regarding the documents that dealt with the specific earn-out agreement. But also because the documents regarding former employees' bonus agreements have been bound by confidentiality.
According to information from Økonomisk Ugebrev, these are documents that have come to the attention of the police through interrogations of former Pandora executives. They are documents that show the basis for bonus payments from Pandora to senior employees.
According to the information, they make it likely that there was a shadow account, which shows significantly better accounting figures than the official accounts for the central European subsidiary Pandora CWE, which is what it's all about.
As you know, the case concerns a years-long dispute between the bankruptcy estate of Kasi ApS, or rather Kasi-Jesper and his family, against Pandora regarding whether the Kasis should receive an earn-out payment for their ownership stake in Pandora CWE, after initially receiving a partial payment from Pandora for DKK 400 million.
The Danish Economic Weekly has previously described internal documents from Pandora showing an internal accounting with significantly higher profits than the official accounts. The new documents allegedly show that the former Pandora executives were paid bonuses based on the internal shadow accounts.
It has been a crucial obstacle in the investigation, both for the bankruptcy estate trustee, Boris Frederiksen, and for the police, that there was no further evidence that could substantiate the validity of the shadow accounts that both the bankruptcy estate, the police and Økonomisk Ugebrev are in possession of.
According to the information, however, time is running out for both the police and the reopened bankruptcy estate of Kasi ApS. The statute of limitations for any criminal case is very close. And Økonomisk Ugebrev learns that trustee Boris Frederiksen does not want an extension of the reopened bankruptcy estate, partly because there is no money for a renewed major investigation, and partly because he does not believe that there are new documents in the case.
In a recent letter to the bankruptcy court, where Boris Frederiksen advises against an extension of the bankruptcy estate, he writes that there is no new information that would make an extension of the deadline relevant. He thus does not acknowledge the existence of a shadow account with Pandora's company logo on it, and that he also does not acknowledge that the Fraud Police have found reason to investigate the case to find additional evidence.
Boris Frederiksen writes to the bankruptcy court that "it must therefore be stated that Jesper Laustrup Nielsen's mention of "new and decisive information" to date is not supported by submitted documentation that in any way supports his views. If such material exists, Jesper Laustrup Nielsen should have shared this with the trustee and the bankruptcy court, which has not happened, leaving a situation where it is not objectively substantiated that there is anything that could change the present final arbitration award."
The bankruptcy court will likely decide very soon on a closure or extension of the reopened bankruptcy estate.