Ventus Energy on Macht und Millionen: My Interview with Lars Petersen

Lars Petersen invited me onto Macht und Millionen, Business Insider’s German-language podcast, to talk about my Ventus Energy investigation. We covered the company structure, the plant purchases, the altered valuation PDF, and what happened after I published.

Source: https://shows.acast.com/macht-und-millionen/episodes/ventus-energy

What we covered

• 1:37 From online gaming to investigating investments
• 5:06 How I started researching Ventus through public records
• 8:02 Following the money through the company structure
• 19:10 Influencers, commissions, and the appeal of 18% interest
• 28:01 The Jugla purchase and the sellers’ pledge
• 34:34 The office building and its Crowdestor connection
• 37:03 The Dambis purchase and my valuation calculations
• 41:16 Why investors believe the sales pitch
• 49:52 When to put the findings to the company
• 51:44 Finding the edits in the valuation PDF
• 57:16 The response to publication
• 1:01:44 The BDO Law review and Ventus’s use of the word audit
• 1:08:06 Dealing with regulators and Invest Stuttgart
• 1:16:10 Ventus Files and the allegations against me
• 1:18:52 Criminal proceedings and the restructuring plan

Listen on

For the documents behind the conversation, start with my original Ventus investigation. My analysis of the restructuring plan covers the proposed repayments and asset valuations.

Sources: https://www.karsten.me/money/ventus-energy-investigation/; https://www.karsten.me/money/ventus-restructuring-recovery/

Update: the sellers’ €9.65 million pledge over the Jugla shares, which we discuss from 28:01, was deleted on 27 August 2026, before we recorded on 4 November.

Sources: https://shows.acast.com/macht-und-millionen/episodes/ventus-energy (at 28:01); document obtained by the author: Lursoft commercial-pledge record No. 100208742, retrieved 7 October 2026.