WHITE PLAINS. N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – Investors have filed a class-action lawsuit against a Canadian mining company doing business in Africa over allegations that it misled investors.
EMA GARP Fund LP and Lawrence Lepard, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint on March 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Banro Corp. and John Clarke alleging violation of the Securities Exchange Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that the defendants mislead investors by representing that Banro was stable and free from interference that has "plagued" the Democratic Republic of the Congo for some time. The representation was allegedly for the purpose of deceiving investors and artificially inflating Banro’s stock price. The suit states Banro was insolvent by late 2017.
The plaintiffs hold Banro Corp. and Clarke responsible because the defendants allegedly made false and misleading statements or failed to disclose that the company was subject to critical threats "by the local populations claiming specific grievances against the company," that the company’s "operating environment was unstable" and "intentionally misled investors regarding its relationship with the local communities and the stability of its business operations," the suit states.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment to pay for damages sustained, award of prejudgment and post-judgment interest, attorneys’ fees, expert fees and other costs, and such other and further relief as the court may deem just and proper. They are represented by Kurt T. Kalberer II of Kalberer LLP in New York.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York case number 1:18-cv-01986-KPF