IOUpay misled shareholders and the ASX when it claimed that a financial lifeline to save the buy now, pay later group had been withdrawn, the company’s largest shareholder has alleged.
A further $12 million was transferred as “unauthorised loans” to other businesses over the last two years.Finran, a little-known investment fund based in Malaysia, had invested $1.5 million into IOUpay, giving it a 4.9 per cent shareholding. IOUpay shares reached a high of 70¢, boosting the company’s market capitalisation to $130 million, before declining over the last year.In September, IOUpay paid $23.3 million to buy a slice of IDSB, a bridging loan company for Malay federal government employees, and began its foray into providing business loans to doctors, nurses and teachers.
Mr Kuan had allegedly used the company treasury to make about $7 million of loans to businesses connected to himself, his wife and two other investment firms called Piminick Investments and Birch Capital in 2021.Shares in IOUpay – which had slumped to trade around 0.04¢ – were placed in a trading halt after the fraud allegations were revealed.he had launched legal action against Mr Lee and IOUpay, in response to the lawsuit brought against him by the company, which prompted an asset freeze.