SINGAPORE (July 2): Ipco International said it was served with two writs of summons from lawyers acting for the company’s former interim CEO Goh Hin Calm, who will be going on trial for his alleged involvement in the penny stock crash of Oct 2013.
See: Three-day committal hearing into 2013 penny stock crash starts
See also: Pre-trial conference for penny stock crash saga set for June 29; trial date to follow
The first writ of summons was issued against Nueviz Investment, a subsidiary of Ipco. According to the statement of claim, former Ipco CEO Quah Su-Ling had purportedly advanced the amount of $266,159.48 to Nueviz to settle the private debt between Quah and Goh.
Ipco lawyers had on May 30 requested a copy of the debt agreement from Goh, but this was not forthcoming. Nueviz has confirmed that the outstanding amount was carried as an advance from Quah in the accounts, but it was unclear about the purpose of the advance. And without these details, Nueviz cannot confirm legality of the advance and whether it is assignable, according to Ipco’s lawyers.
The second writ was related to Goh’s claims he was wrongfully terminated as senior finance and administrative manager, a role he resumed after he stepped down as interim CEO on March 14 this year. Goh is claiming a total of $778,456.40 on amounts due from his alleged entitlements including bonuses, emoluments in lieu, gratuity, untaken accrued annual leave and medical expenses.
To recap, Goh faces six charges for his alleged involvement in the Oct 2013 penny stock crash along with Malaysian businessman John Soh Chee Wen and Quah. The trio has been accused of manipulating the stocks of Blumont, Liongold and Asiasons Capital, now known as Attilan Group. Goh is said to have acted as the “treasurer” of the operations. The sudden surge in their prices and subsequent crash wiped off a combined $8 billion in market value.
Under Goh’s stewardship, Nueviz recorded combined losses of about $18.3 million between FY14 to FY16, which resulted predominately from its holdings in the three penny stocks, according to Ipco.
On Apr 27, Goh was dismissed following a comprehensive review of the company’s performance and accounts of the subsidiaries.
In a statement on Saturday, Ipco said the claims have no merits and intends to vigorously defend the claim and is also considering counter-claims against Goh.
In the penny stock trial, Soh is facing 189 charges ranging from witness tampering to fraud while Quah is facing 178 charges. Soh has been held in remand since Nov 2016, while Quah and Goh are out on bail.
As at 4.20pm, shares in Ipco are trading flat at 0.2 cent.
