QCM

The conviction of five top executives of jewelry maker Folli Follie for falsifying balance sheets and other financial offenses in an Athens court last week is "a victory for transparency and integrity in the financial markets," the founder of the hedge fund that revealed the fraud told Kathimerini.

The governing board of online music streaming company Akazoo, which was the subject of allegations by the Quintessential Capital Management (QCM) fund last month, decided on Friday to dismiss chief executive officer Apostolos Zervos.
QCM released a report in April alleging that Akazoo had been misleading its shareholders. 

A series of US legal firms on Tuesday invited the shareholders of Greek online music streaming company Akazoo to take part in legal cases being launched against the Athens-based corporation on the grounds of cheating, following a hedge fund report alleging serious irregularities at the Nasdaq-listed enterprise.

Italian bioplastics company Bio-On on Wednesday denied allegations of accounting irregularities by US hedge fund Quintessential Capital Management, saying it was considering legal action against the fund.

Some 14 months after Gabriel Grego and his fund, Quintessential Capital Management (QCM), exposed the goings-on at troubled Greek jewelry maker and retailer Folli Follie, leading to the suspension of trading in the latter's stock and hurting many investors and funds, the same fund is back in the spotlight, this time blowing the whistle on an Italian firm.

Folli Follie faces the threat of closure following the revelation of a hole of $290 million in the luxury jewelry company's cash reserves last year and $1 billion in Asia sales. These discrepancies are even greater than the most pessimistic estimates, including those by hedge fund QCM, which brought the case to light last May.

News that a creditor of luxury jewelry maker Folli Follie Group has terminated its loan agreement with the company could be the beginning of the end for the troubled firm, Gabriel Grego, the head of equity fund Quintessential Capital Management (QCM), told Kathimerini on Thursday.

China's Fosun International Ltd is seeking explanations from Folli Follie, where it is the second biggest stakeholder, about its actual financial state.

Representatives of the Folli Follie Group and Ernst & Young will meet again on Friday with the Capital Market Commission to hear the confirmation of the stock market watchdog's demand for an independent probe by E&Y into the blue chip company. The meeting will determine the range and timetable of the inspection.

Greek luxury goods maker Folli Follie said a report issued by Quintessential Capital Management (QCM) on the company was "defamatory" and damaging its interests.

The stock fell 30 percent on the Athens Stock Exchange on Friday after QCM issued a report which said that the company has overstated the number of points of sales it operated worldwide.