The Shareholders Foundation announces that an investor, who purchased shares of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (NYSE: SQM), filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York over alleged violations of Federal Securities Laws by Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (“Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile”) in connection with certain allegedly false and misleading statements.
Investors who purchased a significant amount of shares of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (NYSE: SQM) have certain options and for certain investors are short and strict deadlines running. Deadline: May 18, 2015. NYSE: SQM investors should contact the Shareholders Foundation at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1(858) 779 – 1554.
According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges on behalf of purchasers of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (NYSE: SQM) common shares between March 4, 2014 and March 17, 2015, that the defendants violated Federal Securities Laws. More specifically, the plaintiff claims that between March 4, 2014 and March 17, 2015Defendants made allegedly false and/or misleading statements and/or allegedly failed to disclose that money from Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc was channeled illicitly to electoral campaigns for the Independent Democratic Union (“UDI”), Chile’s largest conservative party, that Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc lacked adequate internal controls over financial reporting, and that as a result of the foregoing, the Company’s financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (“Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile”) (NYSE:SQM) reported that its annual Total Revenue declined from over $2.42 billion in 2012 to over $2.2 billion in 2013 and that its respective Net Income declined from $649.17 million to $467.11 million. Shares of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (“Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile”) (NYSE:SQM) declined from $63.58 per share in September 2012 to as low as 22.87 per share in October 2014.
On February 24, 2015 Chile’s Attorney General announced that he would lead the investigation into the escalating bribery and tax evasion scandal involving the financial firm Banco Penta (“Penta” or the “Penta Group”), a corruption scandal which has embroiled numerous politicians across the country’s political spectrum. According to charges later lodged against Carlos Alberto Delano and Carlos Eugenio Lavin, the two Penta founders used fake expense receipts from family members to lower their taxable income and allegedly made illegal payments to parliamentary candidates and a deputy minister.
On February 26, 2015, Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. issued the first of a series of disclosures, which, for the first time, publicly linked the Company to the ongoing UDI contribution scandal and ultimately culminated in the termination of the Chief Executive Officer and resignation of three Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. Board members. Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. disclosed that, at the request of the Chairman of the Board of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc., an extraordinary Board meeting was held to analyze the ongoing political scandal in and the Attorney General’s investigation. In such meeting, the Board resolved to establish a special committee comprising of Board members Wolf Von Appen, Jose Maria Eyzaguirre Baeza, and Juan Antonio Guzman Molinari.
On March 11, 2015, Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. disclosed that its Board of Directors would meet the next day to evaluate the request by the Public Prosecutor for delivery of certain information pertaining to the alleged bribery scandal.
On March 16, 2015, Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc.announced that it had turned over all of the information requested by the Public Prosecutor in the March 6, 2015 Letter to the Chilean Internal Revenue Service for the last six years, which Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. purported was the proper authority to review such information. Moreover, Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. also announced that the Board had agreed to terminate CEO Patricio Contesse effectively immediately. In the prior weeks, Contesse had attempted to block the Company’s decision to turn over the documents.
Shares of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (“Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile”) (NYSE:SQM) declined to low as $15.02 per share on March 18, 2015.
On April 7, 2015, NYSE:SQM shares closed at $19.00 per share.
Those who purchased shares of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (NYSE: SQM) have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation.
Contact:
Shareholders Foundation, Inc.
Michael Daniels
3111 Camino Del Rio North – Suite 423
92108 San Diego
Phone: +1-(858)-779-1554
Fax: +1-(858)-605-5739
mail@shareholdersfoundation.com