Rabobank sued over ‘unnecessary’ bankruptcy of travel firm Oad

The family which owned bankrupt travel firm Oad is suing Rabobank for €80m, claiming the bank is responsible for the company’s failure.

The Ter Haar family say Oad, which went bankrupt in September 2013, was brought down by the bank after it imposed strict financial conditions on the company in early 2013.

A group of lawyers has looked into the bank’s role and concluded that the bankruptcy was unnecessary, the Telegraaf reports on Monday.

Some 1,600 workers lost their jobs when the firm went bust.

Deliberate

‘We have a war chest to pay up to the Supreme Court and back,’ family spokesman Jan Driessen told the paper. ‘The bank deliberately steered the company into bankruptcy to eliminate any risks to itself. It demanded three times the security needed.’

Rabobank says Oad went bankrupt because it failed to meet agreements and had been warned several times. The family says Oad had no debts, had not defaulted on any payments and had never gone over its credit limit.

The Telegraaf says financial sector regulator AFM is also looking into the role of the Rabobank in the company’s bankruptcy.

Part of the company has since been relaunched to offer coach holidays.