The study answers the following questions:
- Has the probate courts’ sample-based checks of the trustees’ administration of cash and securities of bankruptcy estates been adequate?
- What is the extent and nature of the probate courts’ inspection of the degree to which the trustees bring the administration of bankruptcy estates to a conclusion without undue delay?
- What is the processing time, how much time do the trustees spend on the administration of bankruptcy estates, and how much are the trustees paid for their services?
- To what extent have dividends been paid to creditors on different levels of the order of priority?
Rigsrevisionen assesses that the sample-based checks of the trustees’ administration of cash and securities in bankruptcy estates carried out by some probate courts has been inadequate. On average, 33% of the sample-based checks led to comments on the performance of the trustees; for some of the probate courts, the percentage was even higher. Still, the extent of the inspection carried out by some of the probate courts is limited, and one probate court has not carried out any checks. The limited inspection carried out by some of the probate courts entails a risk that trustees who fail to observe current rules and, for instance, keep the funds of the bankruptcy estate segregated from their own funds are not detected.
Rigsrevisionen initiated the study in March 2022 at the request of the Danish Public Accounts Committee.
Read the introduction and conclusion (PDF)