Shareholders of JR Global REIT have filed a criminal complaint against executives and board members of its asset management company. The complaint alleges that illegal acts may have occurred during public disclosure and accounting processes, as the valuation of the core asset, Brussels Finance Tower in Belgium, was shown with three different figures even at the same point in time. This is the second complaint following an earlier filing at the beginning of this month, which alleged that key risk factors in the REIT's operation were not properly disclosed to investors.
According to financial investment industry sources on the 20th, shareholders of JR Global REIT filed a criminal complaint with the police on the 18th against Oh Nam-su, CEO of JR Global REIT, and eight others including board members, on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act. This was submitted as a supplementary complaint to the initial complaint filed on the 9th.
The shareholders pointed out that the valuation of Brussels Finance Tower disclosed by the asset manager showed a discrepancy of approximately 200 billion won despite being based on the same reference date. As of December 31, 2023, the appraised value of the building provided by Kroll, a global financial and risk advisory firm, was 1420 million euros (approximately 2.12 trillion won). One year later, Kroll lowered the valuation to 135.2 million euros (approximately 2.02 trillion won) and maintained this assessment until December 31, 2025.
However, TdF (Tour de Finance), JR Global REIT's local subsidiary in Belgium, disclosed the valuation of Brussels Finance Tower as 1240 million euros (approximately 1.9 trillion won) in its disclosure at the end of May 2025. In a domestic disclosure by JR Global REIT on March 21, 2025, around the same period, the fair value of the building was listed as 135.2 million euros.
The shareholders claimed that the investor prospectuses for three public corporate bond IR (Investor Relations) sessions held between March and July 2025 listed the appraised value of the building as 1420 million euros. Additionally, the financial statements included in the same prospectuses showed a fair value of 135.2 million euros. JR Global REIT raised 320 billion won through these three public corporate bond issuances. Thus, mid-2025 valuations for Brussels Finance Tower were displayed as three different figures: 1240 million euros, 135.2 million euros, and 1420 million euros.
When shareholders raised this issue at the general meeting of shareholders, JR Global REIT explained that "Deloitte, the local auditor in Belgium, arbitrarily lowered the appraised value to 1240 million euros claiming Kroll's appraisal was high, and because proper valuation grounds could not be secured from Belgium, the Kroll standard was adopted."
A shareholder who participated in the complaint stated, "Two different amounts for the same building were listed in the same investor prospectus," adding that "failing to explain the discrepancy in disclosed amounts may constitute false disclosure or unfair trade under the Capital Markets Act."
The shareholder further added, "Kroll had already appraised the property at 135.2 million euros when the public corporate bonds were issued, yet listing the higher value based on the end of 2023 in the investor prospectus was a deception of investors to lower the debt ratio and raise funds."
Meanwhile, JR Global REIT is conducting ARS (Autonomous Restructuring System) negotiations until November 13. ARS is a system where the court suspends the mandatory commencement of rehabilitation proceedings, allowing the company and creditors to negotiate restructuring voluntarily. JR Global REIT recently announced a revised repayment plan committing to fully repay principal and interest by the end of 2029. The company explained that it shortened the repayment period from the original three years to two and a half years based on an audit report by Samil Accountants, appointed by the Seoul Bankruptcy Court for the ARS process. In response, shareholders expressed their opposition to the repayment plan, stating they have not even been able to review the investigation report.
in STOCK
