Wenge denies fraud claims

THE secretary of Pasakwep Business Group Inc has denied claims by some shareholders that the directors divided some shares held in another company among themselves.
Charlie Wenge said the shares in Mainland Holdings Ltd were sold to other business groups within the company and due process was followed.
He said the directors were back in the villages and were to have responded to the allegations last Friday.
Bob Billy, who claimed that he was speaking on behalf of other Pasakwep shareholders, said some of the directors had divided the shares amongst themselves without the members’ consent.
“This is daylight robbery and we have prepared a report for the police to investigate this matter for transparency,” he said in a statement.
Pasakwep was first set up as Sowally Cooperative Society in the 1960s.
It has about 550 shareholders from the 14 villages in the Mesem area of Morobe’s Nawaeb district.
Mr Billy claimed that members had not been paid any dividends and that the company name had been changed without the consent of the majority.
In another statement, Mainland Holdings chairman Paul Ramanip said that as far as the board was concerned, the disposal of shares by Pasakwep was valid.