B90 Holdings (previously Veltyco Group) continues to face significant challenges stemming from its controversial history under the leadership of its late co-founder and former CEO, Uwe Lenhoff, who passed away in prison in 2020. The AIM-listed company acted as a marketing machine for a global cybercrime network operating online trading and online lottery scams. Recent share transactions have brought renewed attention to the company and its shareholders.
Background: B90 Holdings, formerly known as Veltyco Group, has a tumultuous history marked by serious legal issues involving its former leadership. Co-founder and former CEO Uwe Lenhoff was arrested in early 2019 on charges of investment fraud and money laundering. Following Lenhoff’s arrest, authorities have also sought Hans Dahlgren, a former director of Veltyco, who is wanted in connection with the company’s fraudulent activities. Additionally, former non-executive director Ilan Tzorya was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in the Veltyco network, although his sentence is currently under appeal. Other key figures, such as Betim Tasholli, have also faced prosecution and arrest for their involvement. The case surrounding Veltyco remains open, with the former management held accountable for defrauding tens of thousands of victims and causing hundreds of millions in damages. After Lenhoff’s death in prison, the company rebranded as B90 Holdings in an effort to distance itself from its troubled past.
On August 2, 2024, Ronny Breivik, the Executive Chairman of B90 Holdings, increased his stake in the company by purchasing 49,166 ordinary shares at a price of 3.00 pence per share. This acquisition brought Breivik’s total direct and indirect holdings to 31,049,975 shares, representing approximately 7.06% of the company’s issued ordinary share capital.
Read our Veltyco Group reports here.
Just days later, on August 8, major shareholder Funko International AB significantly reduced its stake in B90 Holdings, decreasing its ownership from 6.7% to under 3% through a series of share transactions. Funko International had originally acquired these shares as part of a share purchase agreement when B90 Holdings acquired the entire share capital of Emwys AB, a Swedish marketing company specializing in pay-per-click (PPC) marketing within the online gaming sector. The transaction involved an initial payment of €500,000 in cash and €250,000 in convertible notes, followed by a settlement of €1.25 million in cash and €1.6 million in B90 shares, resulting in Funko International receiving 25,271,308 new ordinary shares as consideration.
Notably, B90 Holdings has not disclosed the identity of the purchaser of the shares sold by Funko International.
