Andreas Kühn's German charter company based in Kaarst had caused a scandal in 2016 by concluding charter contracts with dozens of customers, but then not providing any yachts for the start of the trip. In addition, several owners of purchase charter models came forward to report that Thinius had not passed on the charter fees collected to the owners. This resulted in claims totalling millions, which led to the forced auction of Thinius yachts and the charter company's offices.
In the meantime, the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office has been investigating the delay in filing for insolvency and fraud for eight months. Various affected customers had filed criminal charges. As a result, the company went quiet at the end of 2016: the base in Lemmer was closed and the competition is present at old locations.
However, Andreas Kühn is apparently continuing to operate. His website is still online and, according to YACHT, Kühn is accepting enquiries from customers as well as bookings.
This was the case for a charter from Lemmer at the end of May. The customer had paid for a yacht in full and wanted to go on a cruise. When he happened to come across the YACHT report on the Kühn and Thinius case on the Internet, he immediately contacted the managing director and demanded his money back. However, Andreas Kühn tried to calm him down and said that he was in a "phase of reorganisation" and had a ship for him, so he should arrive calmly. Three days before the start, however, Kühn informed him that he was insolvent after all.
Kühn also described itself as insolvent to a charter agency back in 2016, but has not yet filed for insolvency.
Worse still: Kühn has apparently also had an ill-informed online agency on Mallorca book yachts that no longer exist. At least, that's what an email suggests in which the agency was looking for replacement ships for Thinius bookings a few days ago.
Hauke Lorenzen, the public prosecutor responsible for the Thinius case at the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office, refused to provide any further information on the status of the investigation when asked by YACHT, referring to the ongoing investigation. The public prosecutor's office recommends those affected by suspected fraud to file a criminal complaint directly with them or at the nearest police station.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
