The "29" Anomaly

The Public Perception

To the market and regulators, the ownership appeared straightforward. A prominent European family held a clear 51% controlling interest in the publicly traded company.

Then the company went bankrupt, and it became a matter of public interest.

The Holding Vehicle

Studying the corporate registry, we understood that the 51% stake wasn't held directly by the family. It was held by a domestic holding company.

This is common practice. But who owned this vehicle?

Four Equal Branches

The holding vehicle was owned by four separate limited companies in equal parts (25% each), each representing one branch of the founding family.

The Luxembourg Layer

Each of those four companies was fully owned by a Luxembourg entity. At first glance, this appeared to be standard tax optimization — fully declared and perfectly legal.

But a closer look revealed something unusual.

Back to the Family

Above Luxembourg, the structure returned onshore: each Lux company was owned by another limited partnership, which in turn was owned by an individual family member.

The structure was complete. Or so it seemed.

The "29" Anomaly

Standard Luxembourg holdings benefit from the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive, which exempts dividends from withholding tax. But these entities were different.

This was not a tax optimization scheme. It was a financial trap.

The True Controller

We investigated who structured these Luxembourg entities. The incorporation documents revealed they were set up by a major investment bank.