YuuZoo Corp under investigation by CAD for possible breaches

MAINBOARD-LISTED online media company YuuZoo Corp is under investigation by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) for possible breaches of the Securities and Futures Act.

In an exchange filing on Tuesday night, YuuZoo said the CAD has asked it to provide access to documents or information relating to the company, its subsidiaries and associates from financial years 2013 to 2016, including all records and correspondence relating to franchises, franchising arrangements and firms it has a stake in.

Thomas Zilliacus, the company's chairman, also received a notice from CAD related to these investigations.

YuuZoo said it "will cooperate fully" with the CAD on the investigations.

This latest announcement comes after the Singapore Exchange (SGX) referred initial findings from an independent review of YuuZoo to the relevant authorities for possible breaches.

The company was also slapped with yet another notice of compliance - its second in as many months - from the bourse operator on Monday.

The SGX had suspended trading of YuuZoo's shares in March, after the company missed a disclosure deadline tied to regulatory queries over its full-year results for the 12 months ended Dec 31, 2017.

YuuZoo appointed EY last October to carry out an independent third-party review after a number of claims and allegations were made against the firm. The review looked into issues raised in emails to the SGX and in articles in The Business Times referred to in an announcement on July 17, 2017.

These related to claims filed by former YuuZoo employees against its former financial controller, including two different police reports, one of which was filed over alleged extortion. Claims were also raised by the former financial controller in an email sent to the SGX after his services were terminated.

YuuZoo in July had refuted the various statements and claims in the articles, saying that it believed a subsequent decline in its share price could be linked to the allegations.