The Successor Organization generated revenue of approximately €8.9 million from sales and compensation in 2020.
Furthermore, the CC received rental income prior to the sale of properties of approximately €86,500. Expenses relating to the maintenance of property pending sale were approximately €71,200.
As of the end of 2020, the CC had filed 124,891 claims to cover real estate and businesses, as well as additional claims for smaller types of assets. These smaller claims are being handled separately from the real estate and business claims.
For the real estate and business claims, the German restitution authorities had issued confirmed or pending decisions on 123,191 claims, of which approximately16,967 claims (almost 14 percent) were approved for the CC. Of these rulings in favor of the CC, restitution (actual return of the property) was awarded in 27 percent and compensation (e.g., where restitution was not possible or where the business was no longer in existence) ordered in 73 percent.
With respect to recovered property, the CC sold the largest, most valuable assets first, meaning that the properties sold subsequently generated less revenue than those previously recovered and sold.
The compensation awards are generally much smaller in amount than would be obtained from the sales proceeds of the same properties, were they restituted. Much of the remaining income of the CC will be from compensation payments.
Of the real estate and business cases in which the CC has received compensation for the assets, approximately two-thirds of the cases to date have been real estate claims.
However, of the pending cases still to be processed, the majority are claims for business assets. A large part of the processing by the German authorities for real estate claims has taken place and the processing of business assets is now under way. Recovery of a business asset usually generates a compensation payment that is far lower than the value of a recovered real estate claim.
Following intense negotiations over several months in late 2017 and early 2018, the following general settlement was reached regarding remaining open claims:
In light of the diminished number of pending SO claims, it was determined that the SO would close by December 31, 2020. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the close date has been moved to late 2021.
Claims filed by the Claims Conference fall into two major categories:
The German restitution agencies processed the claims on the largest and most valuable properties first. This means, that the properties to be recovered and sold in the future will generate less revenue than previously recovered properties. The income to date includes unique claims such as those relating to the Wertheim family.
Further, a large part of the processing by the German authorities for real estate claims has taken place and the processing of business assets is now under way. Recovery of a business asset usually generates a compensation payment that is far lower than the value of a recovered real estate claim.
The following are the major forms of recovery of assets by the Claims Conference:
There are three categories of assets or potential assets that could be recovered by the Claims Conference Successor Organization.
Properties That Have Been Recovered But Not Sold
As of December 31, 2020 the estimated value of unsold property as audited, after taking into account commitments, is approximately $726,000.