JOHANNESBURG – After several delays in releasing its 2018 financial year results, retailer Choppies on Tuesday announced the suspension with immediate effect of its chief executive Ramachandran Ottapathu and appointed on an acting interim capacity the board's deputy chairperson Farouk Ismail, following unnamed suspicions related to ongoing legal and forensic investigations announced by the retailer on March 5, 2019.
The group at the same time announced the appointment of Redford Capital as the "chief restructuring officer", which will in summary entail reviewing the Choppies business and identifying various action plans for implementation within the business to improve it.
Choppies said the suspension will be “until such date as the board determines the action, if any, to be taken in implementation of the recommendations made in the investigation reports that will follow the completion of the legal and forensic investigations announced by the company on 5 March 2019.”
The legal investigation is anticipated to conclude by the end of May (having been extended from the end of April). The forensic investigation is anticipated to conclude by the end of June.