Parent company DRB-Hicom announced the suspension of Lotus CEO Dany Bahar upon an investigation following complaints against his business conduct.
According to the Telegraph, Dany Bahar's investigation was triggered when DRB-Hicom discovered the Lotus CEO had rented two homes in Norwich, UK using funds belonging to the British sports car marque. In order to aid in the operational review, DRB-Hicom has confiscated Bahar's laptop and mobile phone as evidence.
Despite Lotus' absence of a CEO, an official statement assured, "The penultimate holding company would like to stress it is business as usual at Lotus. We fully support the company and will continue to support Lotus in its business endeavors and development."
To maintain Lotus operations, DRB-Hicom appointed three interim representatives Dato' Lukman Ibrahim, Mohd Khalid Yusof, and Aslam Farikullah to handle day-to-day functions for the time being.
During a phone interview with Bloomberg, RHB Capital Bhd. analyst Alexander Chia shared his thoughts. "Dany Bahar was the key player behind the turnaround plan for Lotus. If he is cleared, it would indicatet hat the management is happy to continue bankrolling Lotus. If he ends up out, there will be a lot of uncertainty on where Lotus goes from here."
Dany Bahar joined Lotus back in 2009 and is responsible for launching an ambitious plan for Lotus to revamp its lineup with a series of new models, including the resurrection of the iconic Lotus Esprit. To date, these plans have yet to materialize.
