To be fair I don't think I've seen any adequate take on claims in this article here. A lot of the implications inferred in the article seem to suggest dodgey dealings and the fact the current CEO is just so ticked off about all these damned rules getting in the way of... Things.
There was a bit of history I wasn't aware of on this stock to be fair, as in what came of the deal with Iron Radar as a backdoor listing.
Good summary from bing co-pilot of the events (appears it is getting behind paywalls/member only content):
- Background: In 2015, Kathiravelu was a director of Radar Iron Limited, an iron ore mining company listed on the ASX (ticker: RAD). Radar Iron was struggling financially, with minimal revenues.
- Introduction to Ariel Malik: In July 2015, Kathiravelu was introduced to Israeli businessman Ariel Malik. The connection was related to a potential reverse listing of Weebit Nano.
- Acquisition of Weebit Nano: Later that year, Radar Iron agreed to acquire Weebit Nano. However, a condition of the transaction was that a $5 million capital raising needed to take place.
- Capital Raising Scheme: The capital raise was set to be conducted by Armada Capital, where Kathiravelu was also a director. Armada Capital stood to receive substantial fees if the capital raise was successful.
- Market Manipulation: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) became suspicious when Radar Iron’s share price started rising, making it more attractive for investors. Investigations revealed that the share price had been artificially inflated.
- WhatsApp Messages: Damning WhatsApp messages between Kathiravelu and Malik showed their involvement in manipulating the market. For instance, Kathiravelu messaged Malik, asking if they could get someone to buy Radar Iron shares. Malik responded affirmatively, and the share price indeed increased before being placed in a trading halt2.
Notably, Malik and another alleged co-conspirator, Steven Marko Bajic, both live overseas and have not been charged with any offenses23. Market manipulation is a serious offense, and Kathiravelu eventually pleaded guilty after initially pleading not guilty in court2.
The below is from Microsoft Word - DTZ Annual Report 31 Dec 18 27.03.19 Final_Clean (asx.com.au)That being DTZ an ASX listed entity
Mr Ariel Malik VP International Finance (Contract Completed on 31 December 2018)
Qualification BA, MBA
Experience
Mr Malik is a business strategy consultant in the roles of Senior Vice President for International
Finance. Mr Malik has many years’ experience as an investment banker and is responsible for
overseeing; strategic planning, international business development, cross border negotiations,
capital raisings and finance development.
Mr Malik is an Israeli biotech and materials investor and entrepreneur. He was the founder and
co-founder of Pluristem (NASDAQ: PSTI), Oramed Pharma (NASDAQ: BLSP), each a technology
company that was built around technologies from Tel Aviv Universities, the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, the Technion and other research institutes. Mr Malik is also the founding shareholder
of Dotz and has in addition to Dotz and in co-operation with Ben Gurion University and Rice
University, established Weebit Nano (ASX:WBT) and Ultracharge (ASX:UTR).
Ariel Malik has very little mention on the WBT board but appears to be a university to exchange lister. His influence after this process I have not seen anything of note.
Next, the focus switches to Atiq Raza, which admittedly, does not look good. SEC.gov | Saiyed Atiq Raza
And the complaint: Complaint: Saiyed Atiq Raza (sec.gov)
However, Atiq has only been buying, not selling, unless the suggestion is he is conspiring with a third party, evidence is clearly lacking, and no doubt sprinkled in by Di Stefano to sow a narrative.
As for the ASX queries, what released to the market surfaced after such fluctuations, is it the company's doing, or as the narrative is suggesting, some insider activities?
The next name in bold is Fred Bart, and a number of us here are glad to see the back of him. Being present on a number of ASX listed companies he surely would have been aware of this rule. We have in his stead picked up a much more integrous non-executive director in place.
The next bold name is Cliff Obrecht and his comments on moving to NASDAQ with the revenue argument. Which is fair enough, we are under no illusions of this reality. Just of the opportunities of what we have can mean for the environment of semiconductors and the leverage that offers. Hell, on the NASDAQ we can still find SPAC listed scams valued higher than us. And yeh Coby's flip flopping on ASX love/hate I don't stress too much about, only that some holders waste his time asking about shorters and other nonsense.
The stock is NOT the product. So, stop wasting his time and attention. He has to address the shareholders concerns so you are at liberty to ask this, but I believe such rhetoric has likely led to the existence of this article in the first place. You aren’t doing anyone any favours except click-peddlers like this article.
All-in-all nothing particularly shattering or company destroying in this article to the extent you suggest. This is an earnest attempt at giving it credibility, but it appears that it is there to push a narrative without explicitly saying so.
(20min delay)