Behind the scenes in one of North Jutland’s sporting lighthouses, a drama is unfolding these weeks which was close to ending fatally.
A quick bailout initially averted a looming bankruptcy.
But millions of kroner have disappeared from the coffers, and the director has been sent home and stripped of his powers on suspicion of fraud and forgery.
Secret financial problems
“We set the team”.
That is the title of a sensational initiative from the ice hockey club Aalborg Pirates. For paying DKK 1000, you get a collage with memories from the club’s history that stretches back to 2012, as well as a ticket to a fan event.
Wicked tongues will say it’s peppery.
However, there is a reason for the inflated price.
Aalborg Pirates are financially challenged to a degree that has been kept a secret from the public until now.
It is not only on the ice that things do not go as hoped. Now it is also clear that the economy is a formidable challenge for the company behind the ice hockey team.
According to Nordjyske’s information, a review of Aalborg Pirates’ finances has revealed that several million kroner are missing. Minimum three of a kind.
Initially, it was regarding a lack of income in relation to the budgeting for this year’s playoffs. But it turned out to be far more serious.
In fact, the situation was so alarming that the club has had to get external help in the form of goodwill from a narrow circle of friends of the club.
The repatriated director
The focal point for the financial quagmire is director Lars Laursen.
He has been sent home following the financial problems were discovered. There is simply no money in the coffers.
Lars Laursen took over as director of Aalborg Pirates in 2020. Before then he was finance manager at the club.
Archive photo: Torben Hansen.
According to the club, there are justified suspicions of irregularities in relation to statements of operating profit and equity. An accountant and lawyer have found fraud and document falsification.
– The figures we have been presented with have been made up. It is a serious matter where everything that Aalborg Pirates has built up over 12 years together with sponsors and fans has been at stake, says board chairman Morten Fals.
The total extent of the case is still unknown, as they are still in the process of getting to the bottom of the numbers, but it is an amount of millions which, overall, has ended up in the wrong places.
This means that Lars Laursen has been sent home and stripped of responsibility for managing the day-to-day operations of the club.
– We are still working to uncover the nature and extent of the fraud, and therefore we cannot be specific in relation to the preliminary figures and in what way it took place, explains deputy chairman of Aalborg Pirates, lawyer Tommy Olesen.
Based on Nordjyske’s information, Lars Laursen should have already acknowledged the situation to Aalborg Pirates’ board.
Lars Laursen has been director of Aalborg Pirates since 2020. Before that, he was the club’s financial manager for three years, just as he has directorships in a number of other companies behind him.
Bankruptcy averted
Board chairman Morten Fals, together with others from the club’s board, has worked to form an overview of the challenged finances of Aalborg Pirates.
The work is now so far that it can be concluded that the club is not in danger of bankruptcy. It was otherwise a real risk. But there are still many uncertainties.
What remains is the question of how the board will deal with the financial chaos that has been quietly revealed following a closer review of the finances of Aalborg Pirates.
It is not yet known whether the case will end with a police report by Lars Laursen.
Aalborg Pirates went out in the semi-finals of this year’s playoffs. Due to optimistic budgeting of play-off income and disappointing earnings in the quarter-final once morest Rødovre, the financial goals on that front have not been achieved.
Photo: Lars Pauli
Alongside the investigation of the case and the financial rescue plan, Aalborg Pirates’ board has been working on recruiting a new director.
The agreement is in place, but can only be implemented from the beginning of May, which is why board chairman Morten Fals will take command of the company until then.
At the same time, a planned share issue of DKK 1.1 million has been postponed.
Hat in hand
In recent seasons, Aalborg Pirates have otherwise prided themselves on having a healthy economy.
When Rødovre Mighty Bulls announced at the beginning of the just-completed season that they were financially broke, Aalborg Pirates director Lars Laursen was quick to send 10,000 kroner in the direction of his colleague when a collection was started.
Now, however, it is Aalborg Pirates who are around with hat in hand. We have come a long way in the financial rescue operation that the board has initiated.
Nordjyske has tried to get a comment from Lars Laursen, but he has not returned our inquiry. It has also not been possible to get a comment from board chairman Morten Fals.
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