[IFU loan will not be made to businessman with ties to TVIND]

Berlingske Tidende, Denmark/April 28, 2000

...A Ministry of Development fund, has had its reputation damaged by approving a government loan to a businessman [with ties to]...Tvind.

But the fund was spared having to make a decision on this potentially explosive case because the [businessman]...withdrew his loan application.

...[Not disclosing]...ownership and bookkeeping information...[apparently] is more important than a loan amounting to millions of DKK...

This is the conclusion that can be drawn from the recent case involving the IFU fund approving a loan to the Trayton group in China...

Berlingske Tidende uncovered [some of Trayton Group's] financial background...

[Trayton Group was connected to a]...holding company based on the Isle of Man [with ties to TVIND].

At this point the fund was just finalizing an agreement to give out the loan to its new China-based business partner. But after pressure from the Minister of Development, the fund froze the loan process and initiated a thorough investigation into The Trayton Group's bookkeeping and ownership.

At first, Tomas Lichtenberg the president of Trayton...[who has historical ties to]...the Tvind Teachers' Group, agreed to answer...questions...

But when it came to some questions regarding ownership of Trayton and its bookkeeping, questions that the IFU regarded as "necessary to maintain the agreed loan agreement," Simon Lichtenberg was silent.

...On February 21st a fax arrived at the IFU headquarters on Bremerholm in Copenhagen. Instead of answering the questions posed by the IFU, Lichtenberg just announced that Trayton "hereby withdrew its application for an IFU loan."

The announcement was received by IFU chairman Sven Riskær only six days before the board was to deliver its decision on the loan.

Yesterday, Sven Riskær presented the board with the unusual turn of events that had ended the case.

...The IFU [may have been] relieved by Lichtenberg's sudden withdrawal of the application, as this meant that the fund did not have to make a decision in the potentially politically volatile case...[sic]

Simon Lichtenberg himself made sure that the IFU came out of the case relatively undamaged...[sic]

Chairman Riskær admits that the investigations preceding the Trayton loan approval were not sufficient.

"One could say that we haven't done our jobs well enough", Riskær [stated]...

[He then added] "Actually, we don't have any further comments on the case in question..."

Note: This article has been edited by the Ross Institute of New Jersey. Editing is denoted by brackets or three dots to denote a excised portion.