A fraud inquiry may be launched into the affairs of Display.IT Holdings Plc, the internet financial information company that has admitted making a false statement about its affairs. It said that a 5.7m pound payment for software licenses, which it claimed had been received from a mysterious Luxembourg company had not in fact been paid. Display.IT has boasted that the Luxembourg company Alsina had agreed to buy 920,000 workstation licenses and, when journalists questioned the status of Alsina, they were told that former US presidential candidate Ross Perot was behind the company. However, this was denied by a spokesman for Perot. Shares in the company, which soared to 810p earlier this year, were suspended from the unregulated Ofex exchange two weeks ago when they reached 245 pence and several directors and the company’s lawyers resigned. Since then, the company’s auditors and another director have quit. Mysteriously, the phone line to the company’s London offices is now out of service and the driving force behind Display.IT – chief executive Peter Levin – is unavailable for comment. Display.IT, which, at its peak, had a market value of 100m pounds, was brought to its knees by a London ‘bear raider’ called Simon Cawkwell – known as Evel Knievel in the markets. He has made a fortune by spotting companies he believes are heading for a fall – and selling ‘short’ – disposing of shares he does not own at the current price and promising to supply them later when he hopes the price has fallen. Few of his gambles have been so successful as Display.IT as he made a profit of 250,000 pounds by selling shares weeks ago that he can now supply for as little as 5p each. City watchdog the Securities and Futures Authority are currently investigating and its information may be passed to the Department of Trade and Industry and the Serious Fraud Office.
