Can Korek go public?

Benaw Izzat | Exclusive to iKurd.net

ERBIL,— The pressure is building up on the French Consul Alain Guépratte who cannot ignore the pathetic background of France Telecom in Korek and the poor results.

Since Wednesday France Telecom CEO’s Stephane Richard is indicted for “escroquerie en bande organisée” in other words organized fraud.

Don’t be confused with the previous FT’s CEO Didier Lombard also indicted for mental harassment that resulted in the suicide of around 35 employees.

His Excellency Alain Guépratte knows that Korek is fined daily by the Iraqi Minister of Telecom for the lack of compliance with the initial public offering requirement which is a condition to keep Korek telecom license. Now he must consider the following situation:

Stephane Richard could not ignore that FT partner Agility was indicted in November 2009 by a federal grand jury in United States on multiple counts of False Claims Act violation.

Furthermore the US Department of Justice also joined the civil qui tam lawsuit against Agility under the False Claims Act.

Stephane Richard could not ignore Michael Rubin’s accusations against Korek’s founder which started as early as March 5th 2010.

Stephane Richard could not ignore that the 3G license frequencies are not for free and that there was no upside, Korek announced 3 million customers at the time of the investment in March 2011 (see the press release) and FT official document shows that in March 2013 they still have the same number of customers.

For sure the Consul knows the Article L465-2 Code Monétaire et Financier on providing false information to the market but this is not a big deal if provisions were made in 2012 without giving all the details to the shareholders.

But concerning the investment itself, how can you explain it and through such a complex offshore structure? (See the link above mentioned for the details)

Of course Stephane Richard indictment for organized fraud has nothing to do with Korek but with another case. But it would be a matter of concern if the investigation shows that the fraud was done for the benefit of politicians.

The same politicians who in 2011 gave their blessing to Korek deal, assuming that a listed company partially owned by the French state needs an approval from a member of the Government to invest in a war torn country like Iraq.

It would be disastrous if this scenario takes place after Korek’s IPO especially while France Telecom benefits from a dual listing Euronext/NYSE and as such must comply with the US laws such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

To make sure that there is no issue which could be a threat for Korek ‘s future his Excellency Mr Alain Guépratte and Mrs Ghada Gebara should contact the Direction Nationale d’Investigations Financières et Fiscales.

Important: Mrs Gebara held the position of Korek CEO since August 1st 2011 and as such has no responsibility for France Telecom investment in Korek which took place in March 2011.

As for Mr Stephane Richard indictment, let’s remember that under French laws no one is guilty but presumed innocent until the final judgement is ordered by the Court.

Mrs. Benaw Izzat – a special reporter and senior writer for iKurd.net.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.