THE former chief executive of suspended YuuZoo Corporation, James Matthew Somasundram, was charged on Wednesday (Feb 21) over alleged misleading financial reports released by the company.
YuuZoo Corp, which is now known as YuuZoo Networks Group Corporation, is listed on the SGX mainboard and released quarterly financial reports under its listing obligations. Several of such reports released between 2015 and 2016 were allegedly misleading, as investigations found they overstated revenue by US$4.6 million to US$18.8 million.
Somasundram faces four charges under the Securities and Futures Act for his role in the release of these statements by YuuZoo, according to a police press statement on Wednesday. The statement noted that Somasundram is alleged to have been negligent in connection with the financial reports released by YuuZoo from Q4 2015 to Q3 2016.
“If convicted, he may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years and/or a fine not exceeding S$250,000, for each charge,” the statement said.
Somasundram was appointed CEO of YuuZoo in October 2015, and stepped down in November 2016 for health reasons.
Apart from Somasundram, four others are also alleged to have been involved in the release of misleading statements. They are then CEO and executive chairman Thomas Zilliacus, then chief financial officer, Michael Parker, as well as Anthony Williams and Ozi Amanat, who were independent directors at the time.
All four are currently out of Singapore and have refused to return, the Police said. Warrants of arrest have been issued against them, and an Interpol Red Notice has also been issued against Zilliacus.
Zilliacus was in the news last year, after he said that he submitted a bid to buy football club Manchester United.
Trading in the shares of YuuZoo has been suspended since March 2018. The company said in April 2018 that it was under investigation by the Commercial Affairs Department for possible breaches of the Securities and Futures Act.
