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Nighthawk and Nostra Terra on Monday used the courts to
force the two biggest bulletin boards, iii and ADVFN, to reveal the
identities of the anonymous users
The Daily Telegraph understands that a string of small oil and gas
explorers will follow Nighthawk Energy and Nostra Terra Oil and Gas
(NTOG) in taking legal action against message board users, who they
claim are trying to drive down the share price in order to profit
from short-selling.
According to sources, the chief executives of a host of energy
groups have met to discuss the "extremely damaging"
comments about the companies and their management teams.
Nighthawk and Nostra Terra on Monday used the courts to force the
two biggest bulletin boards, iii and ADVFN, to reveal the identities
of the anonymous users.
The City of London Police are investigating allegations of market
abuse in relation to the matter.
The companies allege that a "hardcore" of bulletin board
users have created dozens of fake 'avatars' to spread scurrilous and
untrue gossip, which has now been taken down from the websites. A
blog entitled "Say no to NTOG" was also recently removed
from the internet.
Matt Lofgren, chief executive of NTOG, said he was personally
targeted with untrue suggestions that he appeared in court on charges
of drink driving – when in fact he only has a speeding ticket.
"That wasn't even one of the worst," he said. "We
think there are multiple users with multiple names trying to create
the image of a big group. I believe that their motivation is simply
money. "We're not going to stand for people spreading lies. I'm
all for freedom of speech but some people have abused that."
David Bramhill, chief executive of Nighthawk, said the company was
very likely to take pursue claims against the worst offending
bulletin board users. "This isn't about muzzling investors that
want to have a go at the company, or who want to complain that
they've lost money, or boast that they've made money," Mr
Bramhill said. "That's free speech and they're welcome to it.
This is about calculated lies."
A spokesman for ADVFN said it is "often" forced to
reveal the identities of its anonymous bloggers following court orders. |
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