Troubled Greek jeweller Folli appoints new executives in Asia

Greek jewellery maker Folli Follie said on Thursday it had appointed a new CEO and an operations chief for its Asian business, which has been at the centre of an accounting scandal that has led to judicial and stock market investigations.

The company, a luxury brand with a distinct curvy peach logo, has been in the spotlight after a hedge fund raised concerns earlier this year about its 2017 financial statements.

In May, Quintessential Capital Management said in a report the company had overstated the number of its outlets and questioned its accounting practices in Asia where the company had expanded rapidly.

The report sent Folli shares down sharply.

A preliminary audit ordered by the company revealed wide discrepancies in the 2017 financial statements of its Asian business, prompting Chairman Dimitrios Koutsolioutsos and vice-chairperson Ekaterini Koutsolioutsou - the couple who jointly founded the firm in 1982 - to step down.

In a stock market filing, Folli said Ioannis Grispos had taken over as chief executive officer of its Asian subsidiary. Grispos, who has many years experience in consulting and financial planning, replaces Ioannis Begietis.

The firm also said Steven Yaung had assumed the new post of chief operating officer in Asia.

A Greek court ruled last month that the bank accounts of Folli’s biggest shareholders, the Koutsolioutsos family and other incumbent and former board members and executives, should be frozen pending an inquiry into its 2017 financial statements.