Oozi Cats steps down from Telit over historic US fraud allegations

OOZI CATS, the boss of Aim-listed tech company Telit Communications, has resigned over his alleged links to a 25-year-old fraud in Boston, prompting fresh scrutiny of London’s junior market.

Mr Cats left his role as chief executive with immediate effect, the company said yesterday, after an urgent review of claims first made by an Italian newspaper and conducted by law firm Cameron Mckenna uncovered he had allegedly “knowingly withheld” a US indictment.

The charge relates to a property fraud scheme in Boston in the early Nineties and was made against a man named Uzi Katz – an alternative spelling of Mr Cats’ name, according to a source close to the company – and his wife Ruth, according to Boston district court documents.

He is alleged to be a fugitive from US justice. “It is a source of considerable anger to the board that the historical indictment against Oozi Cats was never disclosed to them,” Telit said.

Cliff Weight of investors’ group Sharesoc said the situation highlighted the importance of proper scrutiny of firms on London’s junior market. He said: “Due diligence of Aim has yet again failed the market and shareholders.”

Telit shares closed up 5.9pc at 131p yesterday as investors welcomed Mr Cats’ resignation.

The rally came after the company’s market capitalisation crashed by more than half last week to less than £165m on the news of the investigation into Mr Cats’ past as well as worse-than-expected interim results from the company. The “internet of things” specialist had previously been riding high on investor enthusiasm for its technology that links everyday items such as fridges and cars to the internet.

It had a market value as high as £500m earlier this year. Telit counts Californian electric vehicle maker Tesla among its customers.

In May, Mr Cats sold more than 7m of his shares in the company, raising more than £24m, which is understood to have been used to repay personal loans he took out in US dollars.

Yosi Fait, the company’s finance boss, is serving as interim chief executive. The company said it would look to recruit three new non-executive directors to its board, including a new chairman. It also rejected recent reports which questioned the business’s financial health.

Mr Cats and his wife Ruth could not be reached for comment.