The CEO and founder of i-mate, the struggling Dubai-based handset distributor, said that the company was dealing with "major fraud," but that the business and brand will survive.
CEO Jim Morrison said a senior employee within the organization had committed the fraud, which was discovered in late August, and that police are currently investigating the issue.
"This all happened just before we were launching [a new device range]," Morrison told ArabianBusiness.com. "We produced all the paperwork, we have the devices and so we have to sort this problem first." He said that the problems within the company have made it difficult to pay its employees on time, and that 30 of the company's 40 workers were laid off.
Several former employees are considering raising disputes with local authorities, according to the ArabianBusiness.com report, which Morrison said could make things difficult for the company's Dubai operation. He said it was still too early to say if and when the Dubai office would reopen, but that the company would soldier on.
"We are keeping the brand, we are putting out products, and we will be looking for more funding of course," he said. "There is a lot of good stuff happening."
Last week, reports surfaced that the company's offices in Dubai Internet City were closed and phone calls to the offices went unanswered, prompting questions of the company's viability.
An i-mate representative was not immediately available for comment.
For more:
- see this ArabianBusiness.com article [1]
- see this ITP.net article [2]
Related Articles:
i-mate U.S. goes bust? [3]
Struggling i-mate is up for sale [4]
Links:
[1] http://www.arabianbusiness.com/568356-i-mate-ceo-says-troubles-linked-to-major-fraud
[2] http://www.itp.net/573861-i-mate-shuts-down
[3] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/i-mate-u.s.-goes-bust/2008-03-03
[4] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/struggling-i-mate-sale/2008-01-17