NEW YORK, Jan. 9, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Attorney Christopher Gray of the Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C. in New York City ((212) 838-3221 or gray@cjgraylaw.com) has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all purchasers of the publicly traded securities of China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd. ("China Aviation")(Pink Sheets:CAOLF) between February 5, 2004 and November 30, 2004, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated by the SEC thereunder and seeks to recover damages. Any member of the class may move the Court to be named lead plaintiff. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than March 7, 2005.
The China Aviation class action lawsuit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (500 Pearl Street, New York, New York), Docket No. 05-CV-60, and has been assigned to the Hon. Robert P. Patterson, Jr., U.S. District Judge.
China Aviation trades in petroleum products, including jet fuel, gas oil, fuel oil, crude oil, plastics and oil derivatives. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued false and misleading statements concerning the Company's business and risk management controls and that, as a result of the defendants' false statements, China Aviation shares traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period. The complaint alleges that defendants' false and misleading statements helped the Company's parent company and controlling shareholder to complete a sale of $120 million worth of China Aviation shares.
The complaint alleges that unbeknownst to investors, defendants concealed material facts from the investing public including as follows: (a) that contrary to the Company's prospectus, the Company did not have sufficient risk management controls in place for hedging and trading; (b) that funds raised in a private placement of China Aviation stock were used not to fund an acquisition, but rather to meet margin calls for massive derivative instrument trading losses; and c) that the Company's financial statements were grossly overstated or the Company was hiding liabilities totaling in excess of $550 million in derivative trading losses.
The complaint alleges that when the truth about China Aviation's mammoth trading losses was revealed on November 30, 2004, when Bloomberg reported that China Aviation was seeking court protection after losing $550 million in connection with speculative investments in derivative instruments linked to the price of oil, trading in the Company's shares was suspended after the shares plummeted to below $.60 per share.
The class action lawsuit seeks to recover investors' financial losses resulting from defendants' alleged misrepresentations and omissions of material facts concerning China Aviation.
The Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C.'s practice concentrates in complex litigation, class action litigation, securities arbitration, and trials and appeals in all state and federal courts. Attorney Christopher Gray has represented plaintiffs in several significant securities class actions, including against major companies such as Excite@Home, American Express Co., and Electronic Data Systems Corp. In 2002, Mr. Gray investigated and filed the first class action complaint alleging accounting fraud against WorldCom. (In re Worldcom Corp. Securities Litig., S.D.N.Y. Docket No. 02-CV-3288 (DLC)(alleging accounting fraud in April 2002, some six weeks before news of massive accounting fraud broke)).
Investors who acquired the securities of China Aviation between February 5, 2004 and November 30, 2004 may contact attorney Christopher Gray at the telephone number, address or e-mail address below with any questions about their investment losses or for more information concerning the China Aviation class action lawsuit.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.