Noble Group finally rises to the bait, locks horns with ex-Morgan Stanley CEO Michael Dee

It issued an open letter to refute the banker's allegations.

Noble Group today issued an open letter to refute allegations of improper accounting levelled at the group by Michael Dee, Morgan Stanley SE Asia's former CEO and former Senior Managing Director at Temasek.

In the past weeks, Dee has written articles alleging that Iceberg has been "right all along" in accusing Noble Group of improper accounting methods.

"There is no question in my mind that Noble is able to answer the accusations made by Iceberg in a clear and comprehensive manner. It is equally clear that Noble will not do this. Why? Iceberg has brought out some serious issues which if not addressed could lead to the collapse of Noble.Noble’s management are merely trying to save themselves and in the process putting the livelihoods of 15,000 people in jeopardy," Dee wrote in a memo to Noble's employees.

Dee has also called for the resignation of Noble Group's Chairman Richard Elman. Alireza said that the call for Elman's resignation is "a step too far", and claimed that Dee's statements are "ill-informed".

Apart from refuting Dee's accusations, Alireza also said that Noble's recent share buyback scheme shows the group's confidence in its stock.

“As a public company we have an undeniable responsibility to answer anything asked by our stakeholders. I assure you that we have done this, in a variety of forms, and we will continue to do this. 35 banks would not lend US$2.3b, at the lowest spread in our history, without demanding answers to all questions raised and being satisfied with the answers. Our core shareholders would not have added to their positions without demanding answers to all questions and being satisfied with the answers,” Alireza wrote.