Tech firm Telit’s chief steps aside amid probe into American fraud

The chief executive of one of AIM’s biggest technology companies has taken a leave of absence after it emerged he was involved in fraud in the US.

Telit Communications, an Israeli company that specialises in the internet of things, said it had agreed to a request by Oozi Cats to take time off.

It comes as court documents emerged online showing Cats and his wife Ruth were charged with wire fraud regarding property deals in 1991 in Boston, where Cats had studied. The US charges were not disclosed in Telit’s IPO document in 2005.

Telit, whose market value was close to £500 million earlier this year, said it had appointed independent solicitors to conduct “a thorough review of this matter”, referring to “historical indictments” of Cats. Yosi Fait, its finance director, will run the firm during the review.

The shares, which crashed last week after a profit warning, tumbled a further 23.34p today, or 13%, to 158.91p.

Telit is the most-shorted stock on AIM, according to Financial Conduct Authority data, with more than 13% of its shares on loan to hedge funds betting on a share price slump.