Management at Hellenic Seaways (HSW) said a local court found no evidence of wrongdoing alleged by the Italy's Grimaldi Group, the Greek ferry company's largest shareholder.
As TradeWinds reported last year, Grimaldi launched a scathing attack on HSW’s management board, accusing key executives of being “entangled in conflicts of interest” and having concluded “questionable deals” including “abnormally high brokerage commissions”.
Management at HSW, Greece's largest ferry company, declined to comment at the time.
The executives denied these charges in a statement today, saying that the Greek court decision clears them.
According to HSW’s statement, the court found that repairs of three of the company’s vessels and the sale of another were in HSW's commercial interest.
The court dismissed Grimaldi's motion to carry out an emergency audit at HSW.
TradeWinds could not immediately obtain a copy of the ruling. HSW shareholders will also examine the issue in an extraordinary shareholders meeting on 16 May.
Grimaldi’s Greek unit ,Minoan Lines, and HSW’s current management have been locked for months in an ugly fight over control of the company.
Minoan is just shy of a 51% majority but it has faced resistance by incumbent management, which is backed by Greek lender Piraeus Bank, HSW’s second-largest shareholder.
Piraeus, however, has slated its 40.4% HSW stake for sale, with Grimaldi being one of the suitors.
