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Chris Cleverly

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Chris Cleverly
Born (1967-07-27) 27 July 1967 (age 57)
Alma materKing's College London
Occupation(s)Lawyer, entrepreneur
RelativesJames Cleverly (cousin)

Christopher John Cleverly (born 27 July 1967) is a British lawyer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and businessman. A barrister and past Channel 4 TV presenter, he has been involved with ventures in Africa, including the Made in Africa Foundation, AIM-listed African Potash, and Agri-Fintech Holdings, the main shareholder in Nasdaq-listed Tingo Group, a company implicated in US fraud allegations in late 2023.

Early life and education

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Cleverly was born in Essex, United Kingdom, in July 1967.He holds an LL.B. from King's College London (1988) and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Reading (2014).[1]

Cleverly's cousin is British politician James Cleverly, the Conservative MP for Braintree and former UK Secretary of State for the Home Department.[2][3][4]

Career

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Cleverley was called to the bar in 1990. He was the youngest head of barrister's chambers while at Trafalgar Chambers (1999).[5] He is today a practising barrister with Millennium Chambers in London.[6]

During the 1990s, Chris Cleverly presented on Channel 4[7] and contributed to other television channels, radio and newspapers.[8][9]

In 2005, with British designer Ozwald Boateng and a Ugandan prince, Hassan Kimbugwe, Cleverly co-founded a business, Made in Africa.[10][11] In 2007, for Made in Africa, Cleverly wrote a speech, “The Tipping Point,” delivered by civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, at the African Union summit.[11] The Made In Africa Foundation was established in 2011 (and incorporated in the UK in March 2012[12]) by Boateng, Nigerian businessman Kola Aluko and Nigeria-based oil and gas company Atlantic Energy to support transformational and large scale African developments and infrastructure projects.[13] Cleverly was CEO of the Foundation, and oversaw day-to-day operations; Boateng and Aluko were trustees and Atlantic Energy executive Dayo Okusami was a director of the foundation.[14]

The Made in Africa Foundation aimed to assist in raising foreign investment and greater public awareness, and, with Emmanuel Mbi, COO of the African Development Bank, Cleverly launched the $1.5bn “Africa50” fund in conjunction with the AfDB on 14 June 2013; the fund was then formally launched at Nasdaq on 30 September 2013.[15][16][17]

Later described by The Times as a someone "who ... has skipped from venture to venture with little apparent success",[18] Cleverly joined AIM-listed African Potash as its chairman in 2015. In the same time period, Peter Hain and Mark Simmonds also joined as directors.[19][20] African Potash was developing the Lac Dinga potash project in the Republic of Congo.[21][22] However, the business collapsed in value and was delisted from AIM. Later renamed Block Commodities it then focused on blockchain technology in 2018.[18][23] In 2019, Block Commodities was licensed to grow and import medicinal cannabis, striking deals to buy land in Sierra Leone.[2] However, the deals then collapsed, Cleverly stepped down as chair, and the firm's shares were suspended.[18]

Also in 2019, Cleverly, then a partner at private equity firm PAI Capital, led a bid to buy West Ham United Football Club.[18][3]

Tingo

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Cleverly is a director and the president of a publicly listed US corporation, Agri-Fintech Holdings, Inc[24] (from August 2021 until April 2023, Tingo, Inc), a Nigeria-based agri-fintech company,[25] which is a holding company and, with a 19.41% holding, the largest shareholder[26] in Nasdaq-listed Tingo Group, Inc.[27] Dozy Mmobuosi was the founder and CEO of Tingo Mobile which was acquired by Agri-Fintech Holdings Inc. Goodluck Jonathan, former president of Nigeria, and Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga, former Nigerian minister for Trade, Industry and Investment were on the board of Tingo as of June 2020,[28][29] prior to Cleverly joining. Cleverly was appointed president in August 2021 following acquisition of Tingo Mobile by the publicly listed US corporation.[30]

In June 2023, shares in Tingo Group plunged in value after a report from short seller Hindenburg Research said the company was an "exceptionally obvious scam".[31] The company denied the Hindenburg report claims, which it said contained "errors of fact" and "misleading and libellous content",[32] and appointed lawyers White & Case to review the report's claims.[33]

On 13 November 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission halted trading in Tingo Group shares[34] and those of related entity Agri-Fintech Securities[35] after finding inaccuracies in their disclosures.[36] The SEC asserted there were "questions and concerns regarding the adequacy and accuracy of publicly available information in the marketplace ... since at least May 10, 2022, about the financial statements and business operations of Tingo Group and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Tingo Mobile Ltd,"[35] and "since at least February 9, 2023, about the financial statements and business operations of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tingo Foods PLC."[34]

On 18 December 2023, the SEC announced charges against Mmobuosi and three US-based entities: Tingo Group Inc, Agri-Fintech Holdings Inc and Tingo International Holdings Inc, alleging fraudulent financial claims to defraud investors. "Tingo Mobile is a fiction,” the SEC said. “Its purported assets, revenues, expenses, customers and suppliers are virtually entirely fabricated."[37][38][24] As an example, the SEC said Tingo Group's fiscal year 2022 Form 10-K reported a balance of $461.7m in various bank accounts while allegedly only having a combined balance of less than $50 at the end of the year;[38] the SEC's 72-page complaint outlines allegedly fraudulent transactions involving Tingo Mobile in December 2022 and Tingo Foods in February 2023.[39] Auditor Deloitte had given the firm a clean, unqualified audit for its 2022 accounts, leading Hindenburg to question if Deloitte had "missed or rushed through procedures".[40] Sir David Trippier is a director of Tingo and Chair of its Audit Committee.[41]

On 2 January 2024, Mmobuosi was charged with securities fraud, making false filings with the SEC, and conspiracy charges. The charges allege that from at least in or about 2019 through in or about 2023, that Mmobuosi orchestrated a scheme to enrich himself by falsely representing that the Nigerian companies he founded, Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods, were operational, profitable businesses generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue respectively.[42] In September 2024, in response to the SEC charges, a US federal court in New York ordered Mmobuosi to pay over $250 million in fines and barred him from serving as a director of a public company. Mmobuosi and three US-based companies, Tingo Group, Agri-Fintech Holdings, and Tingo International Holdings, "failed to answer, plead, or otherwise defend" themselves in the case.[43][44]

Other activities

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Cleverly is a member of the International Tribunal for Natural Justice,[1] which holds hearings on issues which it claims are being ignored by governments, giving "publicity to discredited medical professionals or conspiracy theorists."[18] In 2019, at an ITNJ hearing, he publicly questioned the safety of 5G.[18]

A portrait of Cleverly is in the National Portrait Gallery collection.[45]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Tribunal Judges – International Tribunal for Natural Justice". Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b Bovey, Chris (31 March 2019). "Cousin of Tory MP buys 4k acre cannabis grow". Feed The Birds. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b Slater, Matt. "West Ham takeover bid: The legal dispute surrounding PAI Capital". The Athletic. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  4. ^ "The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  5. ^ "Every mixed race marriage is building a better Britain". The Independent. 1999-03-04. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  6. ^ mic20202. "Christopher Cleverly". millenniumchambers. Retrieved 12 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Cleverly, Chris (27 December 1999). "Dividing line". Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  8. ^ Cleverly, Chris (14 June 1999). "Life's a pitch - and then you buy". Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Dr Chris Cleverly". www.africablockchainweek.com. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  10. ^ Ozwald Boateng (10 July 2012) New Statesman, "Britain Needs Africa's Help" Archived 23 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, June 2012
  11. ^ a b Boateng, Oswald (September–October 2012). "Commonwealth, A Diamond Opportunity" (PDF). Politics First. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Made in Africa Foundation - Company number 07994406". Companies House. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  13. ^ Made in Africa Foundation, "Made in Africa Foundation" Archived 20 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, 24 May 2013
  14. ^ Made in Africa Foundation, "Made in Africa Foundation Team" Archived 23 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, 24 May 2013
  15. ^ "Rebuilding Africa: Ozwald Boateng takes on biggest design project yet". the Guardian. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  16. ^ "Africa50 Fund aims to catalyse infrastructure development". Infrastructure Consortium for Africa. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  17. ^ "AfDB and Made in Africa Foundation Launch Fundraising for Africa50 Infrastructure Fund". African Development Bank - Building today, a better Africa tomorrow. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Nimmo, Jamie (4 September 2021). "The curious past of the West Ham bid team". The Times. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  19. ^ "African Potash adds Lord Peter Hain to board". Proactiveinvestors UK. 2015-10-28. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  20. ^ "African Potash appoints former politician to board". MINING.COM. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  21. ^ Ralph, Alex. "Amid carnage, investors take shine to goldmines". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  22. ^ "UK firm eyes local fertilizer industry". Monitor. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  23. ^ "Vertu motoring along quite nicely amid uncertainty". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  24. ^ a b Adeoye, Aanu; Quinio, Adila; Aliaj, Ortenca (24 December 2023). "'A fiction': the fall of a fintech star accused of 'massive fraud'". Financial Times. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Management – TINGO INC". Retrieved 2023-07-23.
  26. ^ Market Screener, Tingo Group Inc. Retrieved: 4 January 2024.
  27. ^ SEC Filing of Schedule 14C (available at https://tingoinc.com/investor-information/sec-filings/), 28 April 2023. Retrieved: 24 July 2023.
  28. ^ TINGO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, INC. Audited Report and Financial Statement For the period January 10th, 2020 to June 30th, 2020. Accessed 2 January 2023.
  29. ^ "Tingo Appoints Former Nigerian President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan as Advisory Board's Chair". ioNigeria. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  30. ^ "iWeb Inc. completed the acquisition of Tingo Mobile Plc". Nasdaq. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  31. ^ Quinio, Akila; Adeoye, Aanu; Kerr, Simeon (6 June 2023). "Shares in fintech Tingo slump after Hindenburg takes short position". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  32. ^ Whitehouse, David (12 June 2023). "Nasdaq-listed Tingo denies 'scam' claims from short-seller Hindenburg Research". Africa Report. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  33. ^ "Tingo Group Engages Independent Counsel to Conduct Review of Assertions Made in Short-Seller Report". Yahoo Finance. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  34. ^ a b "SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Release No. 34-98920 / November 13, 2023" (PDF). Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  35. ^ a b "SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Release No. 34-98921 / November 13, 2023" (PDF). Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  36. ^ "SEC suspends trading of Tingo shares due to "lack of accurate" information". Semafor. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  37. ^ Davies, Rob (19 December 2023). "Businessman who tried to buy Sheffield United accused of 'elaborate' fraud". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  38. ^ a b "U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 25913". SEC.gov. U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  39. ^ "SEC complaint Case 1:23-cv-10928 Document 1 Filed 12/18/23" (PDF). Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  40. ^ Adeoye, Aanu; Quinio, Akila (18 December 2023). "SEC charges fintech Tingo chief with 'massive' fraud after Hindenburg short position". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  41. ^ Tingo Group Schedule 14A filing to SEC PROXY STATEMENT - 2023 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS To be held on Friday, December 29, 2023, at 8 a.m., New York Time. Retrieved: 2 January 2024.
  42. ^ "Founder And Former CEO Of Tingo Companies Charged With Securities Fraud". U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  43. ^ "Nigerian fintech chief fined $250mn after holdings described as a 'fiction'". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  44. ^ Jaiyeola, Temitayo (2 September 2024). "US court orders Tingo CEO to pay $250m fine". Business Day. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  45. ^ "Christopher John Cleverly - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
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