Creditors harmed?

Another investigation against restaurateur Martin Ho

Martin Ho

(Bild: Reinhard Holl)

Once again, Martin Ho has to deal with the Vienna public prosecutor's office. They are investigating the well-known restaurateur because of his company's bankruptcy proceedings. The accusation is that he is disadvantaging the interests of creditors. A spokesperson for Ho explained that he expects the proceedings to be dropped, as others have been before.

The trigger is the bankruptcy of a company that used to belong to his Dots group of companies, reports the magazine "Dossier". This was preceded by a complaint from the liquidator of Red Snapper Butter GmbH. The liquidator's five-page statement of facts alleges that the insolvency of Red Snapper was deliberately brought about.

More than one million euros shifted
Assets had been withdrawn from the company, causing damage to creditors. According to the insolvency administrator, more than one million euros had been shifted to companies within Martin Ho's sphere of influence before the insolvency, reports "Dossier".

Ho's spokesperson assumes that the proceedings will be discontinued.

(Bild: Reinhard Holl)

Alexander S. Khaelss-Khaelssberg, Ho's spokesperson, pointed out that other proceedings against the Viennese restaurateur had already been discontinued and that this would also be the case this time. "We reject all the allegations made in the statement of facts as unfounded", said Khaelss-Khaelssberg. He sees a campaign by the Chamber of Labor behind the allegations in the course of the recently concluded AK elections.

Red Snapper Butter GmbH, then still known as Chin Chin Gastronomie GmbH, belonged to Martin Ho's Dots empire until November 2022. After the sale, the GmbH went bankrupt in June 2023. The Vienna Commercial Court appointed the lawyer Clemens Richter as liquidator. He noticed asset transfers and money transfers from Red Snapper to other Ho companies, according to the report.

We reject all the allegations made in the statement of facts as unfounded.

Sprecher Alexander S. Khaelss-Khaelssberg

As a result, Richter submitted a statement of facts to the public prosecutor's office at the end of the previous year. He had previously tried to shed light on the matter with the help of the Dots Group's lawyers, but they had not cooperated.

In any case, the Vienna public prosecutor's office confirmed to the magazine that preliminary proceedings had been initiated in accordance with Section 156 of the Criminal Code. Ho is listed as a defendant.

Is the Chamber of Labor behind the accusations?
In any case, Martin Ho's gastronomic empire is running smoothly, his new restaurant in Dubai is due to open in October of this year and the flagship restaurant "Dots Vienna" on Vienna's Mariahilfer Straße has reopened on schedule after renovation, according to his spokesperson. There is no irritation within the company, he believes that the Chamber of Labor is behind the accusations.

The Chamber has been involved in a media dispute with the restaurateur for some time. In March, the Chamber of Labor announced that it had sued for 240,000 euros in allegedly unpaid wages and was claiming damages for data protection violations. According to its own statements, the chamber represents 44 employees who are waiting for their salaries following changes in the shareholder and management structure of some Dots companies. The Dots Group denied the allegations.

All companies renamed before insolvency
Previously, several companies from the Dots group had slipped into insolvency. At the beginning of the year, Rixi One Personalverwaltung GmbH, which until recently was called DOTS at THE LEO GRAND GmbH, filed for bankruptcy, with liabilities amounting to 1.2 million euros, according to the creditors' protectors. Rixi One was the fourth former Ho company to slide into insolvency within a few months. All insolvencies were preceded by a name change.