Bolt Malta operators dispute ‘insolvency’ claims in judicial letter filed on Monday

Three local companies operating Bolt Malta filed a judicial letter on Monday hitting back at a report penned by MaltaToday on legal proceedings filed by Debono Group to recover €1.6 million where the Group accused Bolt Malta of being "legally insovelnt".

Lawyers Franco Galea and Lucio Sciriha filed a judicial letter early on Monday morning (today) on behalf of Bolt Food Malta Limited, BLT Operations Limited and BLT Malta Limited, which form part of Bolt Malta, the highly popular food delivery service company.

The letter, seen by BusinessNow.mt, takes umbrage at the media coverage on Sunday on the commercial court proceedings filed by Debono Group Holdings, known for importing Toyota and owning ride-pooling company Cool. It is a 20 per cent shareholder in the company running Bolt Malta's operations as a partner, TXF Tech, which it has sued along with TXF Tunisia Holding for €1.6 million over the non-payment of debt owed.

It is understood that Debono Group invested around €2 million in the operation two years ago, and, since then, converted this investment into a loan plus interest.

The Debono Group reportedly claims that over a year has passed since the loan was to be repaid however this never materialised.

Following the media coverage of Bolt being “legally insolvent” despite all signs pointing to the opposite, the three companies operating the food delivery service demanded in the judicial letter that Debono Group publish a "rectification" of these claims or face court action, saying the Group “knew full well” that it was solvent.

The three companies levelled more accusations, saying the MaltaToday article was “clearly and manifestly the result of” Debono Group’s “actions”, or that of other officials within the company.

The companies said they are holding the group responsible for damages “already caused and yet to be caused as a result” of the claims publicised in the media.

The letter also states that Debono Group knows “full well” the three companies make up part of the Bolt brand in Malta, “they are not your debtors and they neither have a judicial relationship with you, and, as you declared, are solvent”.

The letter also cautions Debono Group not to “endanger its repayment of credit owed by third parties or in some other way hinder Bolt’s operations in Malta”, calling on the Group to remedy the situation by publishing a statement to rectify claims made on local and social media within 48 hours.