Andorran Tribunal Upholds Criminal Case Closure and Blocks €62M Restructuring Plan

The Andorran Constitutional Tribunal has rejected appeals from the former owners of Assegurances Generals, confirming the archiving of their criminal complaint and blocking their proposed restructuring plan in the insurer's bankruptcy case.

Amadeu Calvó Casal, Jaume Calvó Boronat, Núria Boronat Gomà, and Assegurances Generals SA had challenged the closure of a criminal case against the company's special administrator, a court-appointed expert, and the Andorran Financial Authority as civilly liable parties. They argued the archiving was premature, lacked effective investigation, and violated their right to effective judicial protection, citing sufficient indications of irregularities in the firm's management. The tribunal upheld decisions by the Batllia and Tribunal de Corts as "reasonable and logical," finding no breach of access to justice or fundamental rights. It ruled that lower courts had properly motivated their rulings and confirmed the penal proceedings' dismissal.

Separately, the tribunal refused to admit an amparo appeal against lower courts' rejection of the ex-owners' continuity and restructuring proposal, designed to avert liquidation. Submitted at a creditors' assembly months earlier, the plan relied on raising over €62 million through urban development and land sales in Aldosa, Mereig, Meritxell, and El Tarter. It promised creditors either resumed insurance services or 100% credit recovery via liquidity options.

The Batllia and Civil Chamber deemed the project hypothetical, lacking financing guarantees, reliable studies, or proven viability. They stressed that under Andorra's 1969 bankruptcy law, concordats must be proposed before formal insolvency declaration, and personally bankrupt parties like the Calvó family cannot submit them afterward. The ex-owners claimed violations of private property rights, defense rights, and due process, but the tribunal clarified that amparo does not apply to property claims. It found ordinary courts had adequately justified their decisions, with no constitutional relevance, and noted unresolved aspects under the outdated law cannot selectively favor one side.

These rulings eliminate any chance of reviving the concordat, advancing the insurer toward liquidation.