iSignthis (ISX), a payments identity company, has published a filing with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) this Tuesday, seeking initial damages in excess of $27 million from the ASX, as part of its ongoing legal battle with the Australian exchange.
In particular, ISX has made an application with the Federal Court to extend its Statement of Claim against the ASX to address the ASX’s Statement of Reasons, introduce a damage claim for what the ISX alleges is the “misleading and deceptive conduct by the ASX under the s1041H of the Corporations Act” and seek initial damages flow from this specific issue in excess of $27 million.
Speaking to Finance Magnates John Karantzis, Managing Director, iSignthis Ltd said: “As we have said from the outset, we have taken this legal action in the interests of our shareholders, who are the ones who have been impacted by this ambiguous and lengthy suspension process. The company is focused on getting the best outcome for those shareholders.”
Finance Magnates understand that the figure of $27 million refers to the damage caused by the ASX to its actual business to date. According to Karantzis, this figure is expected to grow as the company identifies further financial damage to the business.
In a Letter to Shareholders, seen by Finance Magnates, Karantzis said: “... while the currently articulated damages claim is for $27 million, we believe that further substantial damages relating to the broader claim will be quantified in coming weeks.”
ASX declined to comment on the announcement from iSignthis.
Background on iSignthis vs ASX
As Finance Magnates reported, iSignthis has been suspended from trading indefinitely since October last year, as the ASX and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) complete their inquiries as to the nature of its revenue and contracted service fee revenue, following Volatility in its share price.
Following this, the Payments company has engaged in a legal battle with the ASX, as iSignthis alleges that in suspending the company from trading, the market operator had breached its own rules and the Corporations Act.
In April, the Federal Court of Australia allowed the ASX to publish its Statement of Reasons as to why it suspended the trading of ISX shares.
iSignthis wanted the Statement of Reasons to remain sealed and unavailable to the public, arguing that the company would suffer reputational damage if the ASX was able to publish its reasoning behind its trading suspension.
