German financier Lars Windhorst has denied living a “billionaire lifestyle” while large debts to creditors remain outstanding, during a London high court hearing where he struggled to answer questions about his finances.
At the hearing, which related to a claim brought by investment firms linked to Monaco-based cruise magnate Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, Windhorst said it was “complicated” to give an estimate of his net worth and “difficult” to answer whether he was “balance sheet solvent”.
A barrister representing the claimant told the court that shortly after his client won a €172mn judgment against Windhorst in 2021, the German financier racked up thousands of pounds of bar and restaurant bills and spent more than €15,000 buying wine.
The barrister asked Windhorst whether he had “continued to live a very lavish lifestyle, apparently without alteration”, adding that he appeared to be “continuing to live a billionaire lifestyle while owing over €130mn to my client”.
Windhorst told the court that “all these activities are related to business” adding he worked “seven days a week” and that all his entertainment expenses were client related.
“I want to get rid of my personal debt, I never want to have personal debt again,” he told the hearing at the end of a day when his assets were pored over in court, disclosing cash and investments in bank accounts in Germany, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.
Windhorst, who in recent years has been at the centre of a an investment scandal at France’s H2O Asset Management, was asked about private jet fees and other expenses paid out by companies in his Tennor group.
“My lifestyle is to a very large extent linked to my business activities and therefore the majority of my lifestyle expenses are funded by companies of the group,” he told the court.
He disclosed some of his financial arrangements with creditors, including that he had provided a “personal guarantee” to H2O Asset Management for an “initial nominal amount” of liabilities of around €2.5bn.
A judge last month found Windhorst in contempt of court for failing to appear at a previous enforcement hearing in the case. The judge acknowledged, however, that the financier had provided a “sincere” apology to the court.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Windhorst was questioned about loan agreements and other transactions with businessmen including Nigerian oil magnate Segun Adebutu, Swiss-Turkish financier Henry Gabay and German entrepreneur Friedrich Knapp. He also confirmed that he had pledged his art collection to one of Knapp’s companies.
Windhorst struggled to answer questions about the complicated series of trusts through which he holds his assets, but confirmed that his companies have a wine collection consisting of over 1,000 bottles and that he owns watches worth more than €600,000.
He confirmed to court that he no longer owns a 74-meter superyacht called Global, having sold it to an undisclosed party a number of years ago. He said that he still owns a smaller “Wajer 55” boat, which is typically used as a transport vessel to larger superyachts.
Windhorst also confirmed that his trusts owned two Bombardier private jets, but claimed that people “inside and outside” his businesses were also able to use them, including Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio.
