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Tue, Oct 06, 2020 – 10:07 am
GOH Jin Hian has resigned as chairman of Cordlife Group effective immediately, although he continues to serve as an independent director.
This is because Inter-Pacific Petroleum (IPP) judicial managers (JM) sued Dr. Goh in connection with an alleged breach of the director’s duties, Cordlife said in a document late Monday night.
Dr. Goh, the medically trained son of former Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, is stepping down as President “to spend more time on his personal affairs.”
Meanwhile, Ho Choon Hou, vice president and independent director, has been named acting president of the cord blood banking services company listed on the motherboard. Dr. Ho will remain an independent director.
Deloitte & Touche, the JM of insolvent marine fuel and cargo merchant IPP, filed the lawsuit against Dr. Goh in Singapore High Court last Friday night.
The lawsuit is funded by IPP’s two main bank creditors, Societe Generale and Maybank, who seek to recoup losses that they claim were the result of Dr. Goh’s alleged negligence, according to court documents seen by The Business Times (BT).
The JMs had sent a letter to Dr. Goh, demanding that he repay the US $ 156.5 million in IPP debts owed to the Societe Generale and Maybank branches in Singapore for what they said were withdrawn from business services in June. and July of last year for “farce”. transactions, BT reported last week.
He was an executive director of IPP from 2011 until the end of 2014, and then a non-executive director until August 2019. The lawsuit accuses him of failing to fulfill his duty to act with due care, skill and diligence to ensure that IPP matters were “managed. correctly and that their assets and properties are not dissipated “, among other things, The times of the strait (ST) reported Monday afternoon.
According to the JMs, Dr. Goh approved IPP’s financial statements for 2017 and certified that the audited financial statements offered a true and fair view of the company’s financial condition, BT reported last week. JM controls found that some invoices issued for transactions between 2017 and last year were non-existent.
Had Dr. Goh performed his duties carefully and diligently, the JMs alleged, the fictitious transactions would have been discovered and the funds would not have been withdrawn from the banks.
Dr. Goh told ST on Monday that he was “shocked that court managers have so unilaterally started action” without first talking to him about the full side of their story. “What did the banks that are experts in trade finance miss that I should have picked up? What should I have done as a director that I didn’t?”
The nominating committee (NC) and the Cordlife board said in Monday night’s presentation that it would be appropriate to allow legal proceedings to run their due course.
At this juncture, Dr. Goh’s resignation as president will allow him to devote sufficient time and attention to company affairs as an independent director, Cordlife added.
Accordingly, the NC and the board, with Dr. Goh’s abstention, believe that he “has adequate character and integrity to continue as an independent director.” They noted that given his qualifications, knowledge and experience, it is best for the company if he remains in that position.
Furthermore, Dr. Goh has been assisting with Department of Commercial Affairs (CAD) investigations of a possible infringement under the Securities and Futures Act in relation to the main board listed energy and health company. New Silkroutes Group. He was CEO of New Silkroutes until he left office on Thursday, but he remains its president.
Cordlife had said last Friday that it supported Dr. Goh’s continued service as chairman and independent director, as the board believed that his help with the investigation did not compromise his ability to fulfill his duties, according to information available to the company at time.
They also said in another presentation Monday morning that there was nothing at the time to indicate that CAD’s investigation would compromise their ability to oversee and manage company affairs in both roles.
In addition to Dr. Goh, New Silkroutes CFO William Teo and his former corporate director Kelvyn Oo are also assisting with the investigations.
Mr. Oo, who left New Silkroutes in August, is an independent non-executive director of the publicly traded oil and gas company Teho International.
The investigation is not related to Teho and therefore does not affect its business and operations, Teho announced in a document on Tuesday.
It added that Mr. Oo “has always carried out his duties in a professional manner and in the best interest of the group” since joining Teho’s board of directors in January 2015.
Cordlife shares last traded at S $ 0.36 on September 30, while Teho shares last traded at S $ 4.5 cents on Monday.
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