As Oliver Bioscience is on the verge of going public and is currently recruiting investors, some investors have raised suspicions of fraud, claiming that the history of the CEO is falsified. Some investors are reported to have filed a police complaint and initiated civil lawsuits.
Oliver Bioscience introduces itself in media reports as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in stem cell-based biotherapeutics, established in 2011. The company recently announced that it has completed the issuance of unified securities in collaboration with Kookmin Bank and has begun the process of going public on KOSDAQ.
On the 27th of this month, reports emerged that the company held a meeting with several private equity investment partnerships that invested in Oliver Bioscience, including Crown Rock Asset Management. "We discussed matters related to our listing, including the recovery of institutional investor funds," the company explained.
However, some investors claim that the company's explanations lack credibility. Some investors who believed the company's explanations and media reports are raising suspicions of fraud.
At the center of the allegations is the background of CEO Shim Jae-bung. The investor relations materials state that he serves as a full professor at the Convergence Medical Science Center of Sungkyunkwan University, but it has been revealed that he has never been appointed at that institution. Additionally, the photos of the research institute included in the investor relations materials have been confirmed to be from another company's research institute, easily accessible on the internet.
Until 2018, CEO Shim was introduced in the media as the CEO of the marketing platform company 'iPang Korea.' As a result, investors are questioning the background of his rapid transformation from a marketing entrepreneur to a biotherapeutics development expert and CEO within just a few years. In fact, when checking the business registration number of Oliver Bioscience, the registered business type is 'online and mobile advertising agency.'
Investors claim that Oliver Bioscience promoted itself as soon to go public, enticing investors to purchase unlisted shares. It was said that the company plans to go public in the second half of this year and will soon begin the selection of a lead underwriter. There was also an explanation that investors could gain profit through the 'listing beam,' which would cause the price to soar immediately after the listing.
The victims claim that a major shareholder named 'Lee Jae-geun' was mobilized. They say that they were encouraged to purchase unlisted shares at 30,000 to 40,000 won per share under the pretext of needing to reduce the major shareholder's holding ratio, and after promising to buy back the shares with a premium after the listing, they led additional investments without returning the funds.
Oliver Bioscience stated, "There is nothing further to comment regarding the controversy."
CEO Shim stated, "Oliver Bioscience is using my name and business registration number without permission, and I am the representative of Oliver; I do not know this company at all."