Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. says its initial efforts to take action against a company that allegedly provided fraudulent investments have been successful. Suntech has obtained court orders to freeze the worldwide assets of GSF Capital and its manager Javier Romero, and to have an independent, court-appointed manager oversee their assets.
In addition, the manager has exercised the powers granted by the court to replace Romero as the manager of the general partner of the Global Solar Fund SCA Sicar, thereby allowing the court-appointed manager to take control of the Fund.
Suntech reported last month that it may have been the victim of fraud, after discovering that a 560 million euro pledge provided by a third-party investor of GSF may not actually exist. The company has been hit with lawsuits from its shareholders following the news.
‘Our first priority is to protect the interests of our shareholders, and we are pleased that our litigation initiatives have been successful to date,’ says Zhengrong Shi, chairman and CEO of Suntech.
‘Our initial due diligence indicates that the solar plants owned and operated by the fund's operating companies are in good order,’ Shi added. ‘Over the coming weeks, we intend to work closely with the manager to review all of the assets and confirm that the operations are in line with our initial expectations.’
