Beleaguered Italian bioplastics company Bio-On SpA has announced that it is suspending any type of payment, including to employees, suppliers and credit institutions, due to an ongoing judicial investigation.
Italian prosecutors opened a probe in July over alleged market manipulation after US fund Quintessential Capital Management accused the bio-plastics company of accounting irregularities. The New York-based company published a damning report on 19 July, stating that Bio-On was “a house of cards, a scheme conceived by management to enrich themselves on at the expense of shareholders”.
The Bologna-based company announced 12 Nov that the judicial administrator designated for the company had met with local officials to safeguard the company’s assets and investigate the prospects of business continuity.
“The judicial administrator informs that pending the completion of all necessary and in-depth analysis, any type of payment will be suspended,” the company added.
Bio-On appointed Prof. Luca Mandrioli as judicial administrator upon an order by the Court of Bologna at the end of October.
The company’s chairman Marco Astorri resigned from all the offices of the company on 29 Oct, following a house arrest imposed on him as a “precautionary measure” earlier that month.
On 23 Oct, Reuters reported that the Italian tax police had seized €150m in assets in a market manipulation and false accounting case and were carrying out searches in offices in several Italian regions.
Borsa Italiana indefinitely suspended the trade in shares in the Italian bioplastics maker 22 Oct.
Bio-On suspends payments amid business continuity investigations
