Mao Ye Wubrand new general manager of Espanyol for a year, faces this Tuesday a judgment for unfair competition in which they claim 3.18 million euros. The lawsuit is filed by her Megawatt Projects SL, a Palafrugell company, of which Mao Ye was a partner and which was dedicated to selling electrical installations for clients such as Endesa and other subsidiaries of the Enel group. Megawatt Projects was the exclusive agent for Spain of the products of a Chinese company (Pinggao Group) that brought him significant profits in commissions.
Megawatt Projects was owned by two entrepreneurs from Girona, the brothers Diego and Jose Maria Palacioswho controlled 50% of the capital, and by two Chinese, Mao Ye i You Zhou that the remaining 50% were divided equally.
According to the plaintiffs, the Chinese partners took advantage of the situation of blocking in the shareholding to force the dissolution of Megawatt Projects and, acting disloyally, “keep all the cake”.
The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Joan Pérez, explains that among the evidence provided in the case there is a recording made by Marta Lagarda, a former adviser to Megawatt, where managers of Pinggao Group admit that Mao Ye and You Zhou wanted to keep the whole of the business “It is completely false. What’s more, this adviser said that she didn’t remember almost anything because she had the memory of a fish”, replied Mao Ye’s lawyer, Maria Teresa Velasco, when asked about it by Diari de Girona.
Last Thursday, Lagarda testified in court about the content of this recording. They were also subpoenaed by telematics as Pinggao’s management witnesses, but failed to connect.
A millionaire business
The relationship between the Palacios brothers and Mao Ye began in 2017. Megawatt was looking for a Chinese supplier of high voltage equipment for its client portfolio. Mao Ye and You Zhu, the latter with experience in international transactions, put several Asian manufacturers in contact with the Palacios brothers. As a result of these contacts, one was closed collaboration agreement with Pingao Group, a Chinese multinational in the sector. The pact provided that Megawatt would be the exclusive agent for Pinggao products in Spain in exchange for a commission of 5%, although this was later increased to 10%.
Between 2018 and 2020, the supply of Pinggao products to customers of the Enel group generated commissions of five million euros for the Girona company
As a result of this agreement and in view of the contribution made, Megawatt Projects incorporated Mao Ye and You Zhu into its shareholding, so that the new Chinese partners held 50% of the company’s capital.
The business prospered very positively. According to the lawsuit, between 2018 and 2020 alone, the supply of Pinggao products to customers of the Enel group generated commissions of five million euros for the Girona company. The dynamic was so positive that, according to the plaintiffs, “the Enel Group’s confidence in Megawatt was strengthened, producing a increase in equipment supply orders by approximately 26 million euros for the period 2021-2023».
What happened to make a millionaire business that, a priori, benefited all partners go bankrupt? The Palacios brothers are convinced that Mao Ye and You Zhou are going maneuver to break the relationship que united Megawatt with Pinggao with the aim of keeping 100% of these attractive commissions. For this reason, they maintain that they forced the dissolution of the company alleging a “fictitious deadlock situation” in decision-making.
His lawyer also points out that it was Mao Ye and You Zhou who informed Pinggao that there was a demand for the dissolution of Megawatt, which led to the termination of the agreement between the Chinese multinational and the Girona company months earlier that this activity ceases and causes a loss of income. Besides, they suspect that through frontmen they may have created a new society to establish a new relationship with Pinggao.
In the written response to the demand, Mao Ye’s lawyer says her client did not act in bad faith. According to his version, communicating in advance the company’s demand for dissolution to its supplier “was an obligation (…) taking into account the commercial relations between Chinese nationals”.
Likewise, the letter blames the Palacios brothers for the internal conflict between the partners. Remember that the situation changed at the beginning of 2020, when Diego Palacios was left as the sole administrator of Megawatt. They claim that they went from consensual decision-making with transparent access to the company’s documentation, to another in which Mao Ye and You Zhou stood aside, denying them access to the company’s movements. This led them to demand an agreement between partners to re-direct the situation and put an end to the situation of mistrust that was being generated. According to the defendants, since this agreement was not possible, they had no other option than to urge the dissolution of the company.
The liquidator of Megawatt Projects tried unsuccessfully to claim the outstanding debts of Pinggao with the Girona company and a share of his, which add up 663.407 euros. The plaintiffs hold Mao Ye and You Zhou responsible for the attitude of the multinational, which is why they claim this amount jointly and severally, and a significant compensation for damages. Total, 3.18 million eurosalthough they do not rule out later claiming another compensation for emerging damage.