Last checked at 7 Feb 2020 08:50
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7 February 2020
US SOLAR FUND PLC (USF, the "Company")
PAYMENT FRAUD UPDATE
The Board of US Solar Fund plc (LON:USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)) has, with the assistance of New Energy Solar Manager (the Investment Manager), continued its investigation into the payment fraud announced on 30 January 2020 (the Fraud).
The Board and the Investment Manager are working together and with all relevant external stakeholders with a view to recovering the remaining funds and otherwise ensuring the Company is made whole.
The Fraud occurred when the Investment Manager received fraudulent payment instructions for genuine invoices totalling $6.9m for construction work completed by a contractor (the Contractor) to a USF project company (Project Company). This resulted in payments being made to a third party US bank account (the Payments) rather than to the Contractor's US bank account. In a subsequent announcement on 31 January 2020 the Company advised that $3.6m of the Payments had been recovered and returned to the Project Company's bank account.
The Board's investigation to date indicates that the Fraud is an isolated incident originating from outside the Investment Manager with no indication of collusion with any member of the Investment Manager's staff.
When making the Payments, the Investment Manager complied with the relevant processes and procedures for the Company which were established at the time of its IPO in 2019. The Investment Manager has, however, with the full support of the Board and at its own cost, decided to appoint a global accounting firm to undertake a review of the Investment Manager's financial processes and controls. USF's Audit Committee Chair will travel to the Investment Manager's New York office to ensure the review meets the Board's expectations.
The Investment Manager's parent, Evans Dixon, is conducting a review of relevant cyber security arrangements based on its established Cybersecurity Framework. Leading this review are the Group Chief Technology Officer and Senior Cybersecurity Manager who are responsible for cybersecurity across all Evans Dixon business units, including the Investment Manager. Separately the Contractor is conducting a review of its own cybersecurity arrangements supported by an external cybersecurity consultant.
As previously mentioned, there is currently no impact to the relevant construction schedules or budgets. USF will provide further updates in due course.
For further information, please contact:
US Solar Fund Whitney Voûte
| +1 718 230 4329 |
Cenkos Securities plc Will Rogers Rob Naylor Will Talkington
| +44 20 7397 8900 |
KL Communications | +44 20 3995 6673 |
Charles Gorman Charlotte Stickings |
About US Solar Fund plc
US Solar Fund plc listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange in April 2019, following its successful US$200m IPO. The Company's investment objective is to provide investors with attractive and sustainable dividends with an element of capital growth by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar power assets in North America and other OECD countries in the Americas.
The Company will acquire or construct, own and operate solar power assets that are expected to have an asset life of at least 30 years and generate stable and uncorrelated cashflows by selling electricity to creditworthy offtakers under long-term power purchase agreements (or PPAs).
Further information on the Company can be found on its website at http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk.
About the Investment Manager
USF is managed by New Energy Solar Manager (NESM). NESM also manages New Energy Solar, an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed fund which has committed over US$900m to US and Australian solar plants since late 2015.
NESM is owned by Walsh & Company, the funds management division of Evans Dixon, an ASX-listed company (ASX: ED1) with over A$20 billion of funds under advice and management.