Grupeer insists it can carry on despite tax authority suspension

Latvia’s tax authority has suspended the economic activities of troubled peer-to-peer lender Grupeer.

The Latvia-based P2P business lending platform is already facing legal action from investors after it said in March that it would no longer pay interest owed to lenders due to the state of emergency declared across EU member states and limits on being able to recover debts amid the pandemic.

A note on Latvia’s company registry suggests the platform has a tax debt owed to the State Revenue Service (SRS) of  €226,209 (£201,644).

The platform has acknowledged this suspension in a blog on its website but said it would not impact the process of debt collection or repayments.

Grupeer has previously said it will take up to two years to return to normal operations while it focused on getting loans repaid.

It said some of the delay was due to some investors not completing anti-money laundering forms.

These claims have been rejected by some investors who have instructed  Latvian law firm Ellex Klavins to pursue legal action to recover at least €12m (£10.7m).

Grupeer has insisted no action is required by investors and it is now working with debt collection partner Recollecta to pursue and collect unpaid loans and repay funds to investors.

“We intend to resume the full operation of Grupeer as a company and legal entity,” Alla Kisika, founder of Grupeer, said.

“We are preparing the company to obtain a license from the local regulator and become part of the regulated finance market.

“To do so, we continue our work to streamline or AML and risk policies and processes, as well as improve and strengthen our IT platform.”