Tingo Brings in White & Case to review allegations – this is a bluff, see Wirecard, Cupid etc
By Tom Winnifrith | Thursday 8 June 2023
Having initially “refuted” the allegations made by Hindenburg Research and said it would provide its own detailed response, Chris Cleverly’s billion bucks fraud Tingo (TIO) has changed tack and brought in law form White & Case to review the claims. This is a bluff from the fraudsters’ playbook.The fraud Wirecard pulled a similar stunt bringing in KPMG. KPMG concluded that Wirecard was a fraud but bringing in the auditors bought the crooks more time to sell shares, plan getaways etc.
A few years ago KPMG was hired by Cupid (CUP) was hired to review allegations that Ukrainian birds were being hired to pose as sex hungry stunners living within 100 yards of folks on its free hook-up sites. All that a morbidly obese bloke with fungal growth, bad breath, living on welfare in a council flat needed was to sign up to the premium service and he was “in.” Oddly on the “premium” service the gagging for it stunners were nowhere to be seen. Natch KPMG found the allegations – which were true – to be wholly false.
You see the remit KPMG was given was very tight. For instance, it did not interview, Svetlana, a brave journalist who had gone undercover in Ukraine and had all the evidence needed. Speaking to Svetlana was outside the prescribed remit.
So without knowing what remit or budget White & Case has been given you cannot bank on anything when it finally reports. Meanwhile Chris Cleverly, Darren Mercer and the other bosses at the fraud say they will maintain a silence on what Hindenburg alleged although, natch, they “refute” it and say its libelous. So at the worst this buys time for insiders to carry on dumping shares.
But how much time? I wonder if Deloitte, whose local associate in Tel Aviv, audits Tingo is sweating. I suspect that there may be real pressure put on the chaps in Tel Aviv to spare Deloitte’s blushes and quit this account very soon indeed. Standing by Tingo would be high profile red faces for Deloitte.
An auditor resignation would be just the sort of shock to see the shares lurch sharply lower once again. Or maybe since this is such an obvious Norfolk run by chaps with such appalling records, the SEC will just step in and suspend trading in these shares.
If I was one of the crooks behind Tingo I would promise White & Case my full co-operation but stress that there is no rush as Tingo is awash with cash, very profitable, etc. Then I would continue selling every share I owned without making a declaration while establishing citizenship of somewhere like the Comoro Islands, hat tip the fraudsters behind MySquar (MYSQ) for coming up with that bolt-hole. Then I'd make my excuses and book a flight out of America saying that I'd be WFH for a while, What would you do?