Tingo Group Announces Interim Co-CEO to Temporarily Step Down by Mutual Agreement

MONTVALE, N.J., Dec. 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tingo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TIO) (“Tingo” or the “Company”), has today announced that Mr. Dozy Mmobuosi has temporarily stepped down as Interim Co-Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors in connection with an order sought by the Securities & Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to prohibit him from acting as an officer or director of a public company. In addition, by mutual agreement with the Company’s Board of Directors, Mr. Mmobuosi will remain stood down until cleared of the allegations made against him.

Having completed a detailed investigation between June 2023 and August 30, 2023 into the allegations made against the Company by Hindenburg Research, which was carried out by the Company and legal counsel, the Company intends to vigorously defend itself in relation to the SEC complaint. The Company and its Board of Directors are in turn committed to undertaking further investigation and responding to the complaint, supported by leading legal counsel, while at the same time making every effort to protect the business and shareholder value and continuing to execute the Company’s growth plans.

Tingo will continue to operate, serving the farming cooperatives, their farmer members, and the Company’s other customers, many of whom are heavily reliant on Tingo and its services in support of their daily activities.

The Company’s other interim co-CEO, Mr. Ken Denos, will serve as its interim group CEO until further notice. In addition, the management of each group company will remain in their respective roles, with the aim of delivering business stability and continuity pending the outcome of this matter.

About Tingo Group

Tingo Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: TIO) is a global Fintech, Agri-Fintech, food processing and commodity trading group of companies with operations in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Tingo Group’s wholly owned subsidiary, Tingo Mobile, is a leading Agri-Fintech company operating in Africa, with a comprehensive portfolio of innovative products, including a ‘device as a service’ smartphone and a value-added service platform. As part of its globalization strategy, Tingo Mobile has recently begun to expand internationally and entered into trade partnerships that are contracted to increase the number of subscribed farmers from 9.3 million in 2022 to more than 32 million, providing them with access to services including, among others, the Nwassa ‘seed-to-sale’ marketplace platform, insurance, micro-finance, and mobile phone and data top-up. Tingo Group’s other Tingo business verticals include: TingoPay, a SuperApp in partnership with Visa, offering a wide range of B2C and B2B services including payment services, an e-wallet, foreign exchange and merchant services; Tingo Foods, a food processing business that processes raw foods into finished products such as rice, groundnut oil, nut products, wheat, millet and maize; and Tingo DMCC, a commodity trading platform and agricultural commodities export business based out of the Dubai Multi Commodities Center. In addition to its Tingo business verticals, Tingo Group also holds and operates an insurance brokerage platform business in China; and Magpie Securities, a regulated finance services Fintech business operating out of Hong Kong and Singapore, which, as relatively small businesses within the Company, are currently in the process of being reviewed and re-positioned. For more information visit tingogroup.com.