Comments on a local Newspaper Article Regarding Lavasoft - Lavasoft
Gothenburg, February 2007
In an article published the 8th of February in the local newspaper Göteborgs-Posten, Lavasoft is accused of economic irregularities. Lavasoft confirms that the article is based on wrong information on several accounts, and would like to make the following comments:
Claim/allegation: Lavasoft has a large tax debt.
This is not correct. The due date of tax debt that the article refers to has not passed. Therefore no tax debt exists as of today. The majority is owed during the first and/or second quarter and will be paid according to deadlines. The sum to be paid equals three percent of the turnover that year.
Claim/allegation: Lavasoft has a hard time keeping creditors away and has outstanding debts to its suppliers.
This is not correct. All claims made during 2006 have been disputed by Lavasoft and appealed against and six of these have been settled. Currently, the three remaining claims are being disputed in court and we expect a verdict in the near future.
Claim/allegation: The annual accounts for Lavasoft have not been filed since 2004.
This is not correct. The accounts for 2005 were filed last year and, consequently, before this article was published. The documents for fiscal year 2006 are not due until June/July.
Claim/allegation: The owners' of Lavasoft have mixed the company's financial resources with their private economy.
This is not correct. All issues raised by the tax authorities are being disputed and are the subject of an upcoming legal process. Lavasoft can therefore only point to some of the false accusations:
- Lavasoft does not own a holiday cottage outside Falköping. However, before and during the company move to Gothenburg in 2002 it served as office premises which motivated the services from the security company to protect business-critical documents.
- The person that is referred to as the company's chauffeur is the logistics manager of Lavasoft.
- The items disputed (TV, etc.) add up to a total of 46,000 swedish krona ($6,568). The taxes on this cost will be paid rather than debating it in court.
Claim/allegation: Lavasoft owns a house in Germany.
This is correct. Lavasoft has an international client base and is currently considering several locations worldwide to open branch offices, including Germany.
Claim/allegation: Large sums paid to American bank accounts.
This is not correct. The issue concerns the amount of 895,000 swedish kronas ($127,797) paid to American suppliers. Lavasoft and the swedish taxation authorities disagree as to the quality of the documentation supporting the payments. The issue will be settled in court.
According to the article, attempts have been made to contact representatives from Lavasoft without any success, which is of course very unfortunate. For further information, please contact Michael Helander, Director of Communications and PR, phone: +46-(0)733-18 45 63, e-mail: michael.helander@lavasoft.com
About Lavasoft
Lavasoft is the original anti-spyware company. Since 1999 when Lavasoft first launched its Ad-Aware flagship product, it has received countless awards and recognition from highly respected IT organizations. With over 200 million Ad-Aware users around the world, Lavasoft remains an anti-spyware industry leader with more software downloads than any other anti-spyware product.