A new report reveals that the legal battle between Disco Elysium’s core creatives and their former studio ZA/UM has been building, and a new filing now alleges that the current chief executive officer at ZA/UM got there illegally.
The filing accuses Ilmar Kompus of using a shell company to give himself €4.8 million in order to purchase a majority of shares in ZA/UM.
Kompus allegedly sold four concept sketches from Disco Elysium 2, reportedly the first look at the new sequel, to a company he controlled called Tütreke for €1, after which Tütreke sold the sketches back to ZA/UM for the aforementioned €4.8 million.
This comes after Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov accused Kompus of illegally becoming the majority shareholder, using the money that was meant to be spent on developing the sequel.
ZA/UM fired back at the accusations and brought some of its own to Kurvitz and Rostov, saying their dismissal was a result of them creating a toxic work environment, and calling any claim that their termination was for financial gain “entirely unfounded.”
Kompus’ plan allegedly was to then sell the company, however Kurvitz and Rostov both remain minority shareholders, and Kurvitz as the game’s creator holds the power to block any potential sale.
Kurvitz and Rostov also identify Tõnis Haavel, former executive producer at ZA/UM as playing a role in Kompus’ illegal climb to majority shareholder. What’s more is that Haavel is also an ex-banker after he was convicted of investment fraud in 2015.
For Haavel’s part, the new filing alleges that in a similar vein to Kompus, he sold the IP rights to Disco Elysium to a company called Yessirnoir, a subsidiary owned by ZA/UM UK. The company’s director is Anu Reiman, a partner of Haavel’s, reportedly.
Source – [Estonian Ekspress via GamesIndustry.Biz]
