Current account and bankruptcy: repayment limited to the amount of the debts or in full?

When a company goes bankrupt or is placed into (compulsory) liquidation, it regularly happens that the bankruptcy trustee or the liquidator identifies certain possible actions against a shareholder or an administrator (director) of that company.

It is common for the company’s accounting records to show a current account relationship concerning, most often, an administrator of the company.

Evidential value of the financial statements and the current account

Insofar as the accounts are kept and the annual financial statements are prepared under the responsibility of the administrators and approved by the shareholders of the company, they are enforceable against those shareholders and directors (Liège Court of Appeal, 5 October 2001, R.D.C., 2002/8, p. 630).

The situation may however be different where a person is mentioned in the accounts as being a debtor in a current account without being aware of it, or where the current account is not individualized and, for example, no name is mentioned but only “C/A directors” while there are several directors. If the underlying accounting entries relating to the current account do not provide clarification, or are at least not known to the alleged debtor being pursued, the discussion regarding the acceptance or acknowledgement of that debt will naturally first have to take place.

However, if the evidential value of the accounting records is established with respect to a particular director and the matter concerns a current account debt, that director must repay the debt to the company upon its first request, and subsequently to its bankruptcy  trustee.

Once paid, this claim will constitute an additional asset of the bankruptcy estate from which creditors may be satisfied.

Offsetting only the amount of the company’s debts or more?

In practice, it often happens that the debtor of that current account argues that he cannot be required to repay more than the total liabilities of the bankruptcy.
After all, the trustee in bankruptcy acts only in the interest of all the creditors of the bankrupt estate and for the settlement of those debts, and nothing more.

Why then, for example, order someone to repay a current account of five hundred thousand euros when the total liabilities of the bankruptcy amount to only one hundred thousand euros?

A divided judicial practice

Legal doctrine and case law — particularly at first-instance level and depending on the judicial district — are divided on this point.

Some adopt the more pragmatic and logical approach.

Others consider that the actual amount of the liabilities is irrelevant since the trustee in bankruptcy has the legal duty to collect all claims of the company (Article XX.144, paragraph 1 of the Code of Economic Law), regardless of the actual amount of the liabilities.

A clear decision of the Brussels Court of Appeal

The debate was settled earlier this year — at least for the Brussels judicial district — by a ruling of 8 January 2026 of the Brussels Court of Appeal (French-speaking section) (Chamber 9F, AR 2023/AR1312).

The Court follows the latter position and first reiterates the principles already set out above. The ruling adds that if, after payment of all debts, a positive balance remains, it will in any event accrue to the shareholders of the bankrupt company (Article XX.170, paragraph 5 of the Code of Economic Law).

One could also add that the debtor of the current account (for example a director) is not necessarily also the shareholder — or the sole shareholder — of the bankrupt company, so that the distribution of a positive balance after liquidation could indeed benefit parties other than that director himself.

However, when it is clear (as is certainly the case in many smaller companies) that there is a complete overlap between shareholding and management, one may question whether the Court’s position should be followed quite so strictly.

Seek advice in time and sometimes avoid real disasters

Current accounts and unpaid capital contributions are very common situations faced by companies. They are often overlooked during the life of the company and therefore also when the company comes to an end.

Nevertheless, careless handling of such accounting treatments can have catastrophic consequences in the event of discontinuity.

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Vanbelle Law Boutique would be pleased to assist you with expert advice. Consult us in time, because once the company ceases its activities, it is often too late.