Symore B & Devex on ii24 Dec 2018 10:54
Symore B
"I have to agree with ToT - it is probably best to suspend trading until there is some more clarity.
So, the saga continues, next episode being 28th December when Hope has to submit his statement. But you have to ask yourself, if Hope has such a strong case, why did he not lodge his defence statement by the 18th December? Surely he would go for the jugular if he felt SN/Zaza were on their knees? But there is more to this story and I am sure FRR has additional evidence against him but want him to incriminate himself first. But these are very high stakes a bit like playing Russian roulette - it is now a binary bet.
The resignation of the NOMAD is more concerning to me. But given the revelations which are coming out, I am surprised that Jo let his guard down with Hope; we do not know what else he may have shared with him. But the information we got via the Pacer (thanks to StarRage), it is at least 2 months old, so why has he resigned now and not sooner?
Nevertheless, I do feel sorry for Jo as he got played by Hope. I recollect Liz was sacked in a similar way because she disclosed information to Hope. So we now have two people becoming victim to Hope’s manipulation. But from his emails, he is very smart but there is a conflict of interest [where’s my money, where’s my money]. In addition, he is interfering with the day-to-day running of the company, acting like he is the CEO, so exceeding his responsibilities. But if he was a really, really smart guy, he should have resigned as a Director back in April; he would be on a more firm footing now.
At the end of the day, Zaza and team appear to be following a certain course of action and it appears deliberate and planned.
On the plus side, we know that both SN and Zaza are very well connected people and respected in the political circles. Plus they have too many years and too much money invested in FRR for them not to fight this. I would have been even more worried had they not closed two key agreements in the last 6 weeks (namely MoU with BHGE and the NY Financiers). This is clear indication that they were pushing ahead regardless.
The recently signed financing term sheet becomes even more crucial because that could be used to repay Hope before security is called upon - well that’s the conventional process in corporate security."