Finablr's Auditors EY Resign Over List Of 'concerns'

Ernst & Young (EY) has resigned as auditor of Finablr, the embattled owner of foreign-exchange businesses including Travelex Holdings.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Monday, EY announced its resignation, citing concerns over corporate governance and the make-up of the board.

EY’s letter of resignation said there were “concerns arising out of recent events at the company and NMC Health plc…the composition of the board of the company, the adequacy of corporate governance concerns and the recent issues that have caused the company to commission an independent review of the company's financial arrangements, including of related party transactions and on and off- balance-sheet debt".

Prior to its resignation, EY had called for a number of changes to be made at board level.

Board changes

As part of the announcement to the LSE, it was also confirmed that non-executive directors Abdulrahman Basaddiq and Bassam Hage had resigned from the company effective March 27.

However, according to the note, this did not “accommodate EY’s requirements in full in the time allowed to them”.

EY added that it has not made any “specific allegations or suspicions of wrongdoing, or of any actual or alleged instances of accounting, financial, governance or other irregularities”.

Earlier this month Finablr announced it had hired an advisor to prepare for potential insolvency proceedings. Prior to that, the company confirmed that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) agreed to the temporary suspension of listing of the shares of Finablr PLC at the request of the company.

In addition, the board has been informed of the presence of about $100m in cheques, dating from before Finablr’s May initial public offering that were used to benefit third parties.