Nigeria SEC Says Oando Committed `Serious Infractions,' Bars CEO
(Bloomberg) -- Nigeria's market regulator barred Oando Plc's chief executive officer and deputy CEO from the boards of public companies for five years after an investigation found that the oil and gas producer committed “serious infractions.”
A forensic audit by Deloitte & Touche LLP "revealed serious infractions such as false disclosures, market abuses, misstatements in financial statements, internal control failures, and corporate governance lapses stemming from poor board oversight,” the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement on Friday.
The commission ordered the company to convene an extra-ordinary meeting to appoint new directors before July 1.
Oando said in a statement that the allegations were “unsubstantiated” and “invalid” and that it hadn't been shown the forensic report.
READ: Oando Auditors Question Its Ability to Continue Operations
The SEC in 2017 ordered a probe into Oando following complaints of corporate governance failures and financial mismanagement. Ernst & Young, auditors for the company said last month there was material uncertainty about the energy firm's ability to continue as a going concern as liabilities exceeded current assets.
Oando's debt rose to $2.5 billion after acquiring oil and gas assets from U.S. giant ConocoPhillips, increasing finance costs and stalling growth. The company said last year it targets paying down the debt by 90 percent by the third quarter of this year.
The shares slumped 9.7 percent to 4.20 naira at the close of trading in Lagos on Friday. The stock is down 16 percent this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Emele Onu in Lagos at eonu1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Osae-Brown at aosaebrown2@bloomberg.net, Shaji Mathew
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
