An investigation has been launched on behalf of investors of Top Ships, a Marshall Islands-incorporated tanker owner and operator, into the company’s dealings with Kalani Investment.
According to US-based law firm Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP (GPM), the investigation concerns the company and its officers’ possible violations of federal securities laws.
The investigation is said to be instigated by allegations that Top Ships’ CEO, Evangelos J. Pistolis, caused the company to engage in a “series of manipulative share issuance and sales transactions with Kalani and related entities.”
“Mr. Pistolis would purportedly cause Top Ships to sell common shares to Kalani at a significant discount compared to market price and would then file registration statements so that Kalani could resale those shares into the market,” the law firm said.
World Maritime News is yet to receive a reply from the company on the matter.
The Greek tanker shipping company’s link to Kalani Investment and the alleged share manipulations is being investigated on the heels of DryShips involvement in a similar deal which the company ended following a class action lawsuit.
Namely, DryShips saw a class action filed against it based on accusations of a stock-manipulation scheme aimed at artificially inflating its share price.
The transactions trace back to June 8, 2016, when DryShips raised hundreds of millions of dollars by selling newly-issued shares directly to Kalani at a discount to market value.
It was claimed that the issuance of shares caused the dropping of diluted shareholder value, while the frequent fluctuation in DryShip’s common share price, caused by the company’s capital-raising, reportedly cost the shareholders hundreds of millions of dollars.
