Genius Group Blocked From Raising Funds And Buying Bitcoin By New York Court

(RTTNews) - Genius Group Limited (GNS) Thursday said it is being forced to sell its Bitcoin Treasury after having been blocked from selling shares or raising funds, and specifically from using investor funds to buy Bitcoin by the United States District Court Southern District of New York (SDNY).

As previously reported by the company, on October 30, 2024 Genius initiated arbitration procedures to terminate its Asset Purchase Agreement or APA with Fatbrain AI (LZGI), and on December 17, 2024 both parties agreed to a preliminary injunction on the Company's shares related to the APA.

This took place after LZGI's shareholders filed a lawsuit against LZGI and its officers, Michael Moe and Peter Ritz alleging a history of fraud, including in their actions related to the APA and after the SEC filed shareholder fraud allegations for defrauding LZGI shareholders amongst others.

The company said it has filed an emergency motion to vacate the preliminary injunction and for an immediate administrative stay with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on March 19, 2025, and is awaiting the outcome of the appeal.

The company is also taking steps to downsize its operations, including closing various divisions and cancelling all event sponsorships, marketing activity, and investing activities until such time that the company is legally able to resume its growth plans.

Roger James Hamilton, CEO of Genius Group, said "When Genius had its IPO in the US in 2022, we believed exposure to the US public market would be of benefit to a Singapore-based company like ours. We never dreamed that it was possible that a US court could block the company from being able to issue shares, raise funds or buy Bitcoin - all actions that would normally be decided by a public company's shareholders or Board rather than a court. We especially did not expect that such destructive actions could be successfully achieved through the courts by individuals who were actively working against the interests of our company's shareholders and Board."