- CEO suspended
- Share price falls 18 per cent
CleanTech Lithium (CTL:12p), a lithium company with projects in Chile, has suspended chief executive Aldo Boitano after he failed to disclose a stock lending loan agreement with a financial institution.
Between 8 September 2023 and 6 February 2024, Boitano transferred his entire holding of 9.4mn shares as security to a custodian account nominated by the [undisclosed] lender. Boitano is not able to ascertain the extent to which the shares may have been transferred to a further nominee account in the name of the lender nor the extent to which any shares may have been sold by the lender to third parties.
The granting of security and subsequent transfers of ordinary shares are considered notifiable events which should have been notified to the company at the relevant time. Accordingly, the board has suspended Boitano pending an investigation into the matter. In the interim period, executive chairman Steve Kesler will assume the chief executive’s responsibilities to ensure there is no impact to ongoing work programme at the company’s flagship Laguna Verde project.
The board has made clear that Boitano is cooperating fully with the investigation, but the fact remains that the transfer of his holding is price-sensitive information and should have been disclosed to both the board and the market. The share price fell 18 per cent to 12p following the announcement and is 30 per cent below the level when I highlighted the recovery potential in mid-February 2024. Investors who backed an oversubscribed open offer and placing that raised £8.5mn, at 22p a share, in November 2023 to fund work on CleanTech’s lithium projects are also underwater.
Ahead of further announcements on both the investigation and the company’s operational progress, I downgrade my recommendation on the shares to hold.
