Loyal readers will recall a recent article we did about Martin Coward and his wife Elena Ambrosiadou, who heads IKOS Asset Management and who was accused of spying upon her former portfolio manager Tobin Grover. Grover had been hired by Coward, and the move by Ambrosiadou was seen as a strike against her now estranged husband.
Now, Coward, who was under a gag order from a Cyprus judge, has spoken out, denying as "absurd" allegations made by Ambrosiadou that he, Coward, had no stake in IKOS. In a letter, Coward acknowledged that his claim that he "continues to have a stake in IKOS" is under litigation, but maintains:
"the suggestion now being made… that I played little or no part in the creation of IKOS… is plainly absurd."
Coward created the trading algorithms used by IKOS, and claimed he "devoted his life" to IKOS until he resigned in late 2009. For its part, IKOS has accused Coward of stealing proprietary information and conspiring to "to take control of the company and misappropriate its technology." This claim, in the form of a press release, came after a judgment against the company forced it to pay substantial penalties for spying on the former employee, Grover.
Coward alleges that Ambrosiadou used a company to install spy equipment at their jointly-owned home in the UK. He claims a tracking device was found in his car bumper in March.
In a letter, IKOS told investors that Coward "has no stake in the company and has no entitlement to the company's profits", and that the personal dispute between Coward and Ambrosiadou had been settled. Coward roared his disagreement with those statements, saying IKOS rejected arbitration attempts.
© 2011 Hedge Fund Writer LLC
