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Chariot Boss Resigns To Face ASIC Charges |
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Written by Adam Gosling
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Thursday, 03 August 2006 |
Just over a week after the Board of Directors declared Chariot
Managing Director, Robert Horlin-Smith would stand trial on ASIC charges, he
has resigned from the post. He will stay on as a Director and consultant for an
initial period of six months.
Adelaide-based ISP, Chariot,
has made the VoIP News
recently due to the legal fallout the company is facing following the failure
of its deal to deliver VoIP services in conjunction with the local arm of London-based
Transcom International.
Although Chariot has now announced VoIP services via another
route, the suit alleges Chariot reneged on a deal to help fund Transcom's Australian
operations.
The dispute made it out of the courts and into the media when
local Transcom boss, Nav Basi, director of the Queensland-based company, accused Horlin-Smith
of misleading the market.
Basi claimed that by not disclosing that the equity deal
Chariot had struck with Transcom Australia had been converted into a
master distribution arrangement when Chariot failed to ante up the funding,
shareholders were not kept properly informed.
Horlin-Smith's trouble with ASIC is totally unrelated to
that issue, however, unrelated to his involvement with Chariot at all.
Horlin-Smith stands accused of failing to act honestly in
the exercise of his powers and the discharge of the duties of his office with
the intention to deceive or defraud the auditor of Normans Wines.
The charges date back to a January 2005 investigation into Horlin-Smith's
actions leading up to 1999 while he was Company Secretary of the now defunct
Normans Wines.
However, the decision to commit him for trial on seven
charges over the matter curiously came just after the accusation by Transcom's
Basi.
Chariot's Finance Director, Gary Hersey, will take over from
Horlin-Smith assuming the role of Chief Executive Officer.
Hersey joined Chariot as Chief Financial Officer and Company
Secretary less than 2 months before the announcement of the ASIC charges. He
was promoted to Finance Director the day before the ASIC charges were announced
by the Board and issued with stock options (at 14 cents) three days later.
Chariot stock is currently trading at $0.075 off a 52 week
high of $0.65.
One of the Chariot founders, Horlin-Smith is an accountant
who worked in the family wine business until 1999 at which
stage he commenced a business called Byrne & Smith Pty Ltd.
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