Elumeo SE: Bad news for operators of "Juwelo TV" - Million-dollar lawsuits, allegations of fraud and investigations by prosecutors - Accusation of "annihilation" of PWK Jewelry Company Ltd.

September 16, 2019 - 03:37
Elumeo SE: Bad news for operators of "Juwelo TV" - Million-dollar lawsuits, allegations of fraud and investigations by prosecutors - Accusation of "annihilation" of PWK Jewelry Company Ltd.

BERLIN, GERMANY / CHANTHABURI,THAILAND - EQS Newswire - 16 September 2019 - The bad newsabout the German jewelry retailer elumeo SE and its distribution channel JuweloTV do not stop. The events surrounding the group's illiquid jewelrymanufacturer PWK Jewelry Trading Ltd in Thailand (Chanthaburi Province) havebeen the subject of numerous trade talks in the run-up to the Hong KongJewellery & Gem Fair, which starts next week. So has elumeo SE to deal withanother lawsuit that was brought before the court in Berlin. Shareholders areconvinced that the management under Wolfgang Boyé has not told the truth,especially about the jewelry manufacturer PWK in Thailand, which is in deepfinancial difficulties.



Former employees of the insolvent PWK Jewellery Company Ltd and representatives of the Thai Ministry of Labour met with the Governor of Chanthaburi Province to discuss the situation of the illiquid jewellery manufacturer. The employees had already demonst

 

The most recent lawsuit is a just another drop of a legal storm brewing overelumeo SE and its management headed by Wolfgang Boyé, Thomas Jarmuske and BerndFischer. All three managers are under investigation of the Berlin publicprosecutor's office and the Thai police authorities, who are investigating themfor fraud. The SWM Trust Company sued elumeo on behalf of the financiallydevastated PWK Jewelery Company Ltd. for 10.2 million Euros in unpaid jewelry.In addition, suppliers of the elumeo SE subsidiary PWK also sued the companybecause they were not paid, including such large diamond suppliers as Flawless,which already, on July 10, filed case 301.013/Sor4014 with the Bangkok Courtsfor unpaid gems.
Other suppliers such as Bright Future and G4S logistical company were also notpaid. The financial picture drawn by elumeo SE's management at the AnnualShareholder Meeting on August 7, 2019 in Berlin looks gloomy.

 

The management of elumeo SE under Chairman of the Board of DirectorsWolfgang Boyé had sent the group into an economic downturn. Elumeo SE, whichwas initially successfully listed on the stock exchange, suffered a 24% declinein sales revenues in 2018. Equity shrank by 80.9% and total losses amounted toEUR 26 million according to the unaudited 2018 consolidated financial statementspublished by elumeo. The shares of elumeo SE turned into penny stocks.

 

The target set by elumeo SE of selling millions of pieces of jewelry a yearvia the Internet and its TV channel "Juwelo TV" was never achieved.The production facility in Thailand was designed to produce 2 million pieces ofjewelry per year. However, the sales figures of the Boyé troupe remained farbelow expectations, going as low as a quarter of the expected sales level.

 

The lawyers of anchor shareholder OSH speak of a targeted "destruction"of the group's own production facility in Thailand. Through its subsidiary"Silverline" in Hong Kong, elumeo SE ordered jewelry worth over EUR30 million from the other subsidiary PWK Jewelry Company Ltd in Thailand. Onlya fraction of the juwelry was paid. This ultimately led to the financialcollapse of PWK's own subsidiary. As a result, over 600 Thai employees losttheir jobs, with no salary payments and no statutory severance payments. Themanagement of elumeo SE had already discussed in advance the possibilities ofgetting rid of Thai employees without having to pay statutory severancepayments, an illegal move under the Thai law, and, most probably, an immoralone too. PWK workers protested in Chanthaburi and in front of the Germanembassy in Bangkok, seeking government's help in obtaining their legalseverance pay.

 

The anchor shareholder OSH recently filed another lawsuit againstmanagement's refusal to appoint a special auditor who would check the legalityof Wolfgang Boyé and Executive Director's actions as well as digging into thecompany's documents and resolutions to see how it was possible to come to thisincredibly bad situation, where the company is cornered with legal cases,unpaid debts and its management criminally investigated in two countries.

 

Once advertising as a vertically integrated structure having its ownmanufacturing facilities in Thailand, which was its strength and pride, elumeois resorting now in seeking merchandise and credit from various suppliers fromThailand and India, trying, on the same time, to explain its shareholders thatthis is the better and most feasible approach.


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