PHAC orders probe into potential misuse of funds by former management

2 weeks ago 5

Publicly-listed Premiere Horizon Alliance Corporation is investigating transactions made by its previous management for possible irregularities, including misuse of funds and the additional listing of shares.

“The new management of the Corporation engaged the services of Deloitte Philippines to prepare a Special Report to determine the regularity of identified transactions covering additional listings of the Corporation,” said the firm in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

It explained, “As a background, the new management is currently reviewing thoroughly and comprehensively relevant transactions entered into by the Corporation’s previous management.”

PHAC said it is focusing mainly on “transactions which may potentially be unauthorized and/or involve the misuse of the Corporation’s funds, including those transactions involving certain shareholders with whom the Corporation has already filed cases, along with other entities and persons with whom said shareholders may have interacted with.”

It added that one of these transactions being reviewed is the additional listing of the Corporation involving these shareholders.

Pursuant to this review and the engagement of Deloitte, PHAC said that, in the meeting of its Board of Directors, Deloitte discussed its preliminary findings with the Board.

“The latter resolved to note and direct the involved parties to submit explanations, relevant information and/or documents addressing the preliminary findings of Deloitte,” PHAC said.

Before being replaced by new shareholders, the previous PHAC management had intended to use the company for the backdoor listing of technology firm Squidpay which had signed a Memorandum of Agreement with PHA in 2021 to subscribe to a total of 2.8 billion PHA shares at ₱0.33 apiece.

A third or ₱300 million of the ₱925 million transaction value was supposed to be settled by Squidpay in cash, while the rest will be paid via combined cash and stock infusion of Squidpay Technology Inc. (SPT) shares in a period of 2 years.

Last December 2024, PHAC’s Board of Directors approved the cancellation of the property dividend declaration made on March 20, 2018 due to lack of regulatory approvals. 

It noted that, the previous Board of Directors of the company approved the declaration of property dividends consisting of 268 million shares of stock at the new par value of ₱0.10 per share of Redstone Construction and Development Corporation (RCDC). 

The regulatory approvals for the payment of the property dividends have not been given for six years since the declaration of the property dividends.

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