Amin Skov, the owner of Restaurant Vejlegården, announced on Monday that his restaurant is bankrupt and will not reopen.
"It is checkmate,” Skov said in a press release that was also released on his Facebook page. "It is with great regret that I announce that Restaurant Vejlegården is bankrupt and can no longer continue.”
Skov said his ongoing battle with union 3F and a recent fire have destroyed his bottom line and affected his ability to recapitalise his business.
The restaurateur accused police of dragging their feet in investigating the December 21 fire last year that closed the restaurant.
“As long as they keep the case open, it is impossible to move forward,” Skov said.
The 34-year-old restaurateur is still charged with arson and attempted insurance fraud in last year’s fire. The evidence police have collected thus far has apparently not been strong enough to keep Skov in custody. After a preliminary hearing in January, a judge in Kolding turned him loose.
Skov says that as long as he is a suspect, the insurance company refuses to pay his nearly one million kroner claim for damages from the fire.
Police inspector Brian Voss Olsen said that he hopes the investigation into the fire will be completed soon.
“We hope to turn our materials over to the prosecutor soon,” Olsen told Politiken newspaper.
Olsen would not say when he expects the materials to be turned over or if any new evidence has been found since Skov’s preliminary hearing.
Skov continues to claim that he did not set the fire, saying that he was attacked and knocked unconscious by one or more assailants and woke to find his restaurant in flames.
