| Author | Message | ||
     Saarang Pilla Bewarse Username: Saarang Post Number: 918 Registered: 04-2015 Posted From: 208.54.104.34 Rating: N/A |
Mr. Meenavalli, who says he controls 90% of Longfin shares, told The Wall Street Journal he is “based out of Dubai” but intends to spend 15 days a month in the U.S. He said its sole U.S. office space—a small room with three desks and no computers in a shared-office building in downtown Manhattan that was deserted at 9:30 on a recent weekday morning—is temporary. Longfin plans to open a bigger office in New York and is hiring more U.S. employees, he added Mr. Meenavalli is 48 years old, according to records he confirmed in an interview, although in a May 2017 SEC filing he is listed as 45. Described in that filing as “a financial wizard,” his biographies for some earlier companies show him having a computer-science degree from Australia’s Suffield University. His Longfin biography lists a diploma in international trade finance from Middlesex University in the U.K. In SEC filings, Longfin reported it had 20 employees in March 2017. The number dropped to two the following month, rose to 15 in July, fell to three in November and was reported as 18 on Monday. A filing in July 2017 listed Sarah Altahawi, 23, as a New York-based executive. Ms. Altahawi said Monday she is not a company officer, “so that was a mistake.” Her father, Andy Altahawi, said she was a secretary. He was issued 2 million Longfin shares for advising on its IPO, according to filings. He said he “managed the SEC process as a consultant” and didn’t act as a banker or underwriter. Mr. Altahawi was listed on Longfin’s website as a director until September, when the SEC questioned why he wasn’t included in the company’s filings. “I’m not a director…never was—what was online was untrue,” he said. Mr. Meenavalli said Mr. Altahawi was an officer for two months but then resigned and declined an invitation to join the board.  |