BSD Crown Ltd. (the
“Company”)
(LSE:
BSD)
Company Update: Meinl Bank
Deposit
Ramat
Gan, 20 June 2017
Further to the announcement dated 17 May
2016, the Company hereby updates the market on recent
developments in relation to the cash amounts (the "Deposit")
of approximately US$30 million
deposited by the Company with Meinl Bank (“Meinl”) in
Austria in 2013.
The Company has received a notification from Meinl claiming that
certain events of default have occurred under the pledge agreement
allegedly signed between the Company and Meinl and therefore, under
Section 7.01 of such pledge agreement, the collateral posted in a
pledged account for the purpose of settling certain obligations of
Terminus Ventures Limited (“Terminus”) under a loan
agreement between Terminus and the Company has now become due and
payable pursuant to such loan agreement. Consequently, Meinl
reserves its rights against the Company, secured by a pledge over
the Company’s deposit of US$30
million held in Meinl (the “Company’s Deposit”). In
addition, Meinl has requested from the Company to increase the
pledged deposit for an additional amount of EUR 1,110,212 related to alleged unpaid
margins.
The Company denies any and all claims of Meinl. Without
prejudice to any rights, and as stated in the announcement
referenced above, the Company has never agreed to use the Deposit
as collateral or as a guarantee in favor of any third party.
Furthermore, the Company possesses certain documents that indicate
that the Deposit is held in Meinl on behalf of the Company, free
and clear of any encumbrance.
The Company will continue to seek the return of the Deposit
and has instructed its legal advisors to act, on its behalf, in
order to explore and pursue all courses of action and rights
regarding the Deposit.
Furthermore, the Company herby announces that on 18 June 2017, the Tel-Aviv District Attorney's Office (Taxation
and Economics) notified Mr. Gregory
Gortovoy, the former controlling shareholder and chairman of
the Company's board of directors, that it is considering filing an
indictment against him, subject to a hearing, based, inter alia, on
suspicions of theft by authorized personnel, money laundering,
fraud, breach of fiduciary duties and falsification of corporate
registrations. According to the notification, as of July 2015, Gortovoy has used his position as
controlling shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of
the Company to conceal the fact that the aforementioned deposits
were allegedly pledged in favor of loans given to banks in
connection with loans provided by the banks to companies related to
Gortovoy.
Enquiries: Joseph
Williger, Active Chairman of the Board
Yossi@ydekel.co.il