The collapse of German container leasing firm P&R Group has led to accusations it was operating a giant Ponzi scheme and the company's senior management are now under investigation by prosecutors. A statement by P&R's insolvency administrator revealed the firm sold nearly a million more containers to investors than it actually owned. In an interview with Deutsche Welle, CEO Thomas Ingenlath said he had been "blindsided" when his company collapsed in May last year.
The collapse of German container leasing firm P&R Group has led to accusations it was operating a giant Ponzi scheme and the company's senior management are now under investigation by prosecutors. A statement by P&R's insolvency administrator revealed the firm sold nearly a million more containers to investors than it actually owned. P&R, which was once one of the world's largest container leasing firms, claimed to have sold around 1.6 million containers to investors in transactions totalling $4.12bn, but the administrator found just 600,000 in its inventory, with the discrepancies dating back over 10 years.