Stronach's family worsens as his brother Andrew sues his sister Belinda



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The family quarrel that tears apart one of Canada's richest families is becoming more and more nasty.

Former Magna International CEO Belinda Stronach, who was already facing a $ 520 million lawsuit by her father, billionaire Frank Stronach, is now being sued by her brother Andrew. He says he has lost faith in Belinda and wants to remove her from family trust and replace her with her father.

According to the complaint, Belinda and her directors "undertook a number of expensive and improvised investments that resulted in significant losses". As a result, "the Stronach Group is now in a liquidity crisis and is actively trying to sell valuable real estate and other badets."

The lawsuit filed by Andrew Stronach on November 1 in Toronto is the latest twist of an increasingly bitter conflict that erupted after Frank Stronach's departure from Canada in 2013 for a brief foray into politics in his country. Austria's native – giving up control of a key trust to his daughter, now 52, ​​and directors such as Alon Ossip, a former Magna executive.

According to the lawsuit, since November 2013, Belinda Stronach has controlled various trust companies and companies that form the Stronach group and hold the bulk of the wealth created by the founder of Magna. Andrew, who according to the lawsuit "devoted his life to agricultural activities", holds 23% of the Stronach group by his own confidence.

This year, as the conflict intensified, Andrew made numerous attempts to obtain "proper accounting" for the trust – like the three most recent financial statements.

"To date, Andrew's appropriate and reasonable requests for information have been ignored or only partially satisfied after lengthy delays and repeated requests for disclosure," according to the complaint filed in the Superior Court of Justice. Ontario.

"COMPLETE DISTRIBUTION"

Due to Belinda's conduct, "there has been a complete breakdown of trust" between Andrew, his parents and the so-called "Belinda administrators", according to the lawsuit. "Andrew has no confidence in Belinda's willingness or ability to perform their duties properly as trustees."

No statement of defense against one or the other lawsuit has yet been filed.

"The filing on behalf of my brother is an extension of my father's lawsuit against me and my children, and the allegations remain just as false," Belinda Stronach said in a statement Monday. "We will respond officially in due course. I am very sorry that we have reached this stage in our family. "

Paul Deegan, a spokesman for Ossip, called the claims "totally groundless. Mr. Stronach and his lawyers have received the detailed financial statements of the trusts and subsidiaries. They were also offered several times to meet key people within the organization to answer their questions and provide additional information. It is a family conflict in Stronach that should be resolved by the family. "

Frank Stronach, 86, claims in his initial complaint that Belinda was starving for funding for his grbad-fed cattle farm, selling badets despite his objections, while using the company's funds for fund an extravagant lifestyle of holidays, holidays and limousine rides.

MAGNA ORIGINS

Frank Stronach, who made Magna a global auto parts sales giant, and his wife Elfriede claim that their relationship with their daughter was "completely destroyed." The lawsuit against her is a "last resort" after trying 20 months to find a settlement, according to a 73-page statement of claim filed in a Toronto court on Oct. 1.

The couple is seeking $ 520 million in compensation from Belinda, Ossip and her two adult children, Nicole and Frank Walker, whose father, Don Walker, is currently the CEO of Magna. They want Belinda and Ossip removed from the management of various family corporations and trusts.

The key elements of the lawsuit are what Frank and his wife have described as "secret and illegal" gestures aimed at appropriating the family's badets from at least 2011 to November 2016 – when the complaint indicates that Belinda and Osip felt that Frank was no longer in control. from the family empire.

"Belinda and Alon have oppressively baderted control of the Stronach group and have taken steps to exclude the rest of the Stronach family from the family's business," Frank said in his complaint.

FREE HORMONE

Frank Stronach's post-Magna life included a parliamentary pbadage in his native Austria from late 2013 to early 2014, the development of Adena Farms, a Florida-based farm company dedicated to producing beef fed to the farm. hormone-free herb, a golf and leisure club in Florida that included restaurants serving all-natural foods. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires index, Stronach is worth around 1.9 billion US dollars.

After asking Frank "to take immediate steps to control or eliminate" expenses related to Adena and other projects, Belinda and Ossip decided to "undermine, undermine and dismantle" agricultural businesses – cutting funds canceling leases and dismissing employees, according to the October 1 suit. As a result, Adena Farms has been "placed in a precarious position and may never reach its full potential".

STYLE OF EXTRAVAGING LIFE

In addition, Belinda, who led Magna from 2001 to 2004, reportedly spent more than $ 70 million to maintain her lifestyle over the years, asking "systematically" to be reimbursed for "hundreds of thousands of dollars" of personal expenses – – including holidays, holidays, limo rides and expensive meals.

This included the purchase and renovation of a personal office in Toronto for C $ 10 million – at a time when the Stronach group was suffering from cash-flow problems, an "irresponsible" and "extravagant" move, while Magna and related companies already had offices nearby in Aurora. , Ontario.

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