Telit chief takes time off to fight fraud allegation

THE boss of Aim-listed “internet of things” company Telit Communications has taken a leave of absence from the company amid allegations he is wanted for a 25-year-old fraud in Boston.

Independent solicitors have been drafted in by the company to review the allegations – made in Italian newspaper il Fatto Quotidiano yesterday – against its chief executive Oozi Cats. In a statement to investors, Telit said the board had agreed to Mr Cats’ own request for time off while lawyers investigated the claims. Shares in Telit dived by a third to 121.5p yesterday. The company’s stock had already taken a bath this week on disappointing interim numbers on Monday, which sent the shares down 42pc.

Telit had previously been riding high on strong investor appetite for technology which hooks up everyday devices to the internet so that they can share data and improve performance.

The company had a £500m valuation earlier this year.

The report links Mr Cats to a 1992 indictment by Boston’s district court on counts of wire fraud against a man named Uzi Katz, who was later referred to as a “fugitive defendant” in court records. A source close to the firm said Mr Cats sometimes spells his name as “Uzi Katz” as they are alternate spellings of his Hebrew name.

However, it is not clear whether the person named in the Boston court documents is the Telit chief executive.

Mr Cats sold more than 7m of his shares in Telit in May, raising more than £24m. He could not be reached for comment.