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Shine Lawyers considering class action against EML Payments
Plaintiff firm Shine Lawyers is currently considering legal action against EML Payments after the company failed to immediately disclose issues and concerns to shareholders after being notified of them.
Lauren Croft
The payment card technology solutions company failed to immediately notify the market of regulatory and governance issues affecting its subsidiary, PFS Card Services Ireland Limited (PFS).
On 13 May 2021, Ireland’s Central Bank wrote to PFS to raise concerns about the risk of money laundering, counterterrorism financing, risk and control frameworks and governance within the business. This letter follows after the bank flagged a low level of compliance with anti-money laundering laws and issued warnings late last year.
EML delayed announcing this information to shareholders, Shine Lawyers said – and class actions practice leader Joshua Aylward noted that the firm is investigating whether EML's delayed response to the letter breached continuous disclosure laws.
“EML did not request a trading halt for almost four days after learning of these concerns and then took another 48 hours to inform the market,” Mr Aylward submitted.
Mr Aylward said the firm’s investigation would also consider whether EML engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.
“When shareholders invest their money into a company, they do so with the belief that that company will comply with its continuous disclosure obligations. Our claim will allege that EML failed in its obligations, significantly impacting share prices for thousands of investors,” he said.
In a statement, EML said that the bank that raised the concerns, the Central Bank of Ireland, could issue the company with directions that could “materially impact the European operations of the Prepaid Financial Services business, including potentially restricting [the Ireland subsidiary’s] activities”.
Following the release, EML’s share price plummeted by almost 50 per cent and analysts have predicted volatility over the next month as investigations into PFS continue.
“Investors who purchased shares between 19 December 2020 to 17 May 2021 are encouraged to register their interest on our website for this class action,” said Mr Aylward.
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
