Antwerp public prosecutor's office launches new investigation into zinc group Nyrstar
- Kris Vansanten
- Oct 8, 2024
- 2 min read
The Public Prosecution Service is now retracing its steps and has opened a new investigation.
The minority shareholders of Nyrstar NV, united under RSQ Investors, welcome this decision by the Public Prosecutor. For years we have been calling for full transparency in this unsavoury case, in which evidence and indications of malpractice and outright fraud continue to emerge. We remain convinced that the public interest in this case warrants a thorough investigation by the public prosecutor and the court - otherwise the door will be opened for immoral corporate raiders to take over our companies in broad daylight with no risk of prosecution or sanction - in the heart of Europe.
Recent developments, including the confirmation by the Financial Services and Markets Authority that the entire board of directors of Nyrstar NV was guilty of market manipulation, are beginning to cast a different light on the seemingly innocent interview that professor and lawyer Benoit Allemeersch of the law firm Quinz Quin, together with lawyer Geert Verhoeven of the Magic Circle law firm Freshfields, gave in De Tijd (https://lnkd.in/edYYSizp) in October 2019 - without the knowledge of their client.
The claim made by Benoit Allemeersch in this interview: "Nyrstar acted in the best interests of the company and there are sufficient documents in the file to show that the transactions with Trafigura were objective. There is a KPMG report on this and Deloitte also approved the accounts at the time of these transactions. These are part of a 2015 agreement with Trafigura that Nyrstar could not simply ignore.' now appears to be in blatant contradiction to the facts. His further statement: 'Directors do not act in the interests of a shareholder, they act in the interests of a company and that is what they have done here. They strongly deny these allegations and we, as lawyers, can endorse that.' raises even more questions.
His statement that 'they [the directors] are fully aware of their responsibilities and what goes with them' is reassuring - in view of the forthcoming criminal investigation, the directors will not be able to respond with 'we didn't know'.
We now hope that the police will quickly provide the necessary resources to carry out a proper investigation so that the truth in this case can finally come to light, those responsible can be punished and a clear signal can be sent to the market that cuckoo capitalism has no place here.
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