GfK Starts Civil Proceedings against Former CEO and CFO

GfK has begun civil proceedings in the District Court of Nürnberg-Fürth against former CEO Klaus Wübbenhorst, and former CFO, Christian Weller von Ahlefeld, to recover damages relating to tax irregularities in Turkey.

The irregularities were uncoveredat GfK's Turkish subsidiary GfK Araştırma Hizmetleri at the beginning of 2013, when the firm's former local management were accused of collaborating to defraud the global group through tax and social security avoidance schemes over several years. GfK reported the matter to the authorities in Turkey, and said it would be exploring potential criminal and civil charges against the former Turkish management team and 'other responsible persons'. At the time, the company said it would be booking a one-off provision of EUR 21m in its 2012 accounts to cover potential historic tax and social security financial obligations at Istanbul-based GfK Araştırma Hizmetleri.

The firm's Supervisory Board has now started proceedings against Wübbenhorst and Weller von Ahlefeld, claiming they breached their supervisory duties. During the time period in which the violations occurred and GfK incurred damages, Wübbenhorst was the Board member responsible for Turkey and the Chairman of the management board of GfK Turkey; while Weller von Ahlefeld was the management Board member responsible for financial and control systems. Along with an initial hearing, GfK has been involved with out of court negotiations in parallel to the legal proceedings. Clients have not been affected by the tax irregularities, as they were related to the organizational setup, not the client-facing side of the business.

Arno Mahlert, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of GfK SE, commented: 'As previously communicated, GfK has conducted a thorough investigation of the situation. Based on the findings of the extensive in-house and external analysis, the Supervisory Board is compelled to seek compensation for the damages the company has sustained caused by the defendants'.

Web site: www.gfk.com .