Cats zurück. Offizielle Mitteilung soll morgen erfolgen...
Es sollen drei neue Vorstände eingesetzt werden...
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Telit to cut ties with CEO Oozi Cats amid links to fraud case
UK-listed tech company investigating whether boss has links to US fugitive Uzi Katz
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Oozi Cats took a leave of absence from Telit, following allegations in the Italian media that he may be a US fugitive
Telit Communications has severed its ties with chief executive, Oozi Cats, after investigations regarding allegations of his links to a US fugitive by the name of Uzi Katz.
The Aim-listed company will reveal as early as Monday that Mr Cats has been ejected as a director following an investigation by law firm Cameron McKenna, according to two people briefed on the situation.
It will also begin the process of ending his employment contract. Mr Cats, who has a property in Rome, is employed on a contract written under Italian law despite the company being headquartered in Israel and listed in London.
Telit launched an urgent investigation on Wednesday to assess whether its chief executive, who has led the company since 2000, was the same Uzi Katz, who is a fugitive accused of wire fraud in Boston in 1992.
Mr Katz was indicted alongside Ruth V. Katz, his wife. The couple fled the US before a plea hearing. They had been accused of “flipping” properties to take out mortgages with inflated values, according to legal documents seen by the Financial Times. Court filings show the warrants have not been dismissed.
Mr Cats took a leave of absence after a heated board meeting on Tuesday night. That followed a dramatic profit warning last Monday, which triggered a collapse in the company’s share price.
Mr Cats has not responded to requests for comment. Telit declined to comment on Sunday.
Telit is also poised to confirm that it will overhaul its board with the appointment of at least three new independent directors.
Mr Cats, 56, has earned $23.5m since 2009, according to company accounts. That compares with Telit’s cumulative net profit of $62.9m in the same period.
The company is also under pressure to address concerns about the strength of its balance sheet in the wake of a £38m fundraising in May. At that stage, Telit was valued at £500m, making the group, which specialises in technology linked to the internet of things, one of Britain’s biggest technology businesses by market capitalisation. The warning last week and the allegations about Mr Cats sent the stock into freefall and it is now worth half that amount.
Accounts show that the company’s revenue and profit have risen since 2009 but that its free cash flow has not improved at the same rate.
The company’s broker, Canaccord, quit the account after the fundraising and was replaced by FinnCap. Telit is also advised by Berenberg. The company is expected to give more detail on its accounting policies to ease concerns about its sustainability..."
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