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The disappearance of the former Tengelmann boss Karl-Erivan Haub almost three years ago does not leave the billionaire owner family of the trading group in peace.
Legally, there is now movement in the question of whether the company, which disappeared on a mountain tour on April 7, 2018, should be declared dead.
Georg Haub, 58, a brother of the missing person, has withdrawn his application to have Karl-Erivan Haub declared dead.
This was confirmed by a spokesman for the Cologne District Court.
The process will be continued, however, as there were three further applications from the family or Tengelmann companies.
The younger brother Christian Haub, 56, is sticking to the death declaration procedure.
No information could be given about its probable duration, according to the court spokesman: "The procedure lasts until the conditions under the Absence Act are positive or negative."
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The entrepreneurial family assumes that Karl-Erivan Haub had a fatal accident on a ski tour on the Klein Matterhorn near Zermatt.
Contrary to his habit, the entrepreneur, a trained and experienced skier, went alone and with only light equipment to a mountain station at an altitude of 3820 meters on the fateful Saturday, from which slopes lead both to Switzerland and to Italy.
Despite a day-long search operation with helicopters and teams of rescue specialists, no trace was found.
One of the richest clans in Germany
Since the disappearance of the former company boss, the group has been led by Christian Haub.
Georg Haub is one of the largest shareholders with a stake of over 30 percent.
However, he has not been involved in active company management for a long time.
The Tengelmann family is one of the richest clans in Germany with assets estimated at at least three billion euros.
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The conglomerate includes, among other things, shares in the textile discounter Kik and in the DIY chain Obi with over 650 stores and 46,000 employees across Europe.
One of the group's most lucrative investments is an extensive property portfolio, held by the subsidiary Trei Real Estate.
The company invests primarily in residential and commercial properties in Europe and the USA.
Tengelmann also frequently appears as a financier with venture capital for start-ups.
Years ago, one of the most successful investments in this area was the online retailer Zalando.
All in all, the group reported sales of around 8.1 billion euros in 2019 and employed more than 90,000 people.
Inheritance taxes threaten
Neither the court nor the company wanted to comment on the reasons for Georg Haub's move.
A declaration of death would increase the pressure on the wife of the disappeared, Katrin Haub, to sell the shares of her family line.
In this case you should expect to have to pay inheritance taxes in the hundreds of millions.
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Even years after the puzzling incident in the Swiss Alps, wild speculations persist about the fate of Karl-Erivan Haub.
According to one version, he is said to be in Russia, where allegedly a love affair and contacts with "oligarchs" led him.
It is rumored that the connections even extended to Russia's head of state Vladimir Putin.
Others want to know that the billionaire has been the victim of a crime.
From time to time there is also talk of the use of detectives in the company's environment.
So far, however, nothing has been reliably proven.