Last year, Radovan Vitek, a Czech billionaire, generated some very unwelcome headlines for Swiss resort Crans Montana. Meanwhile, he is fighting for his money against the might of a U.S. hedge fund.

The news went viral in April of 2018: Crans Montana, the famous ski resort in the Swiss Alps, was forced to stop operating its cable-cars because owner Radovan Vitek had pulled the plug. The owner of the key infrastructure of the resort, a billionaire from the Czech Republic, claimed that the village had failed to honor its financial commitments.

Thousands of skiers were left stranded at the foot of the mountain – a picture that no tourism representative in expensive Switzerland wants to see.

Smaller and Bigger Worries

Only a few years earlier, the 48-year-old real estate tycoon had been hailed as savior of Crans Montana. He injected millions of francs into the system and secured its operations. Today, the case is in the hands of the local attorney general, who is investigating how Vitek got hold of the company.

But he has a much bigger worry to take care of: New York-based hedge fund Kingston Capital is suing the Czech tycoon for $1 billion. A court in Luxembourg recently found in his favor, according to a report by «Bloomberg». In the ruling, the judges say it remained unclear why Vitek’s real estate company CPI Property Group had been sued in the first place.

A Long Way to Go

David Greenbaum, the finance chief at Vitek’s firm, said the ruling was the first step to a complete exoneration. Kingston by contrast claimed the opposite was true: Vitek’s company may have been excluded from the case, but not he personally or former and present board members.

Vitek has a lot to lose. His property portfolio is worth some 8 billion euros ($9.1 billion) and he personally is worth some 3 billion euros. The «King of Crans Montana» proclaimed to go all the way in his fight against the hedge fund.

«We have a lot of liquidity and are prepared to see it out,» said Greenbaum in an interview with «Bloomberg».

Fighting Over a Property Firm

Vitek may need all the liquidity he can find. For Kingston Capital, the case in Luxembourg is but a side-show – the real deal will happen in New York. That’s where the company sued Vitek’s firm.

The hedge fund alleges that Vitek got hold of Orco Property Group, a real estate firm based in Luxembourg, by employing illicit means. Kingstown owned a stake in Orco, when Vitek bought shares at a hefty discount through a web of firms and front men.

Special Cases

When Orco got into trouble during the financial crisis, Vitek assumed official control of the firm. He restructured Orco in 2014 and made sure the hedge fund representatives lost their place on the board.

Kingston is managing $1.5 billion and has focused on complicated cases. The fund managers are looking actively to identify firms that are strongly unvalued due to external or internal influences.

Crans Montana Is Watching

Crans Montana will give its full attention to the developments. If Vitek’s firm were to be found liable to pay damages to Kingstown, the cable cars and ski lifts may suddenly feel the pinch again – for different reasons than last year.