Thomas Cook Collapsed Owing at Least $12 Billion

The financial black hole at the center of insolvent travel company Thomas Cook amounts to at least $12 billion (£9 billion) according to a new report from the UK Insolvency Service. More than half of the total figure, around $7.6 billion (£5.7 billion), relates to debts owed to other parts of the business, but that still leaves $4.4 billion (£3.3 billion) owed to outsiders. Of this, banks and other lenders are owed $2.4 billion (£1.8 billion), suppliers $1.2 billion (£885 million), customers $780 million (£585 million), and employees $60 million (£45 million). Beyond these headline numbers the Insolvency Service has so far declined to give any details on the individual companies involved in the claims.