Menaldi v. Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC

164 F. Supp. 3d 568, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19083, 2016 WL 634079
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 17, 2016
Docket14-CV-3251 (JPO)
StatusPublished
Cited by54 cases

This text of 164 F. Supp. 3d 568 (Menaldi v. Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Menaldi v. Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, 164 F. Supp. 3d 568, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19083, 2016 WL 634079 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

J. PAUL OETKEN, District Judge:

Lead Plaintiffs Ralph Langstadt and Julie Lemond (“Plaintiffs”) bring this action on behalf of a putative class of investors who purchased securities in Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (“Och-Ziff’) between February 9, 2012, and August 22, 2014. (Dkt. No. 17.) Plaintiffs allege that Defendants violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) by misleading investors about an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) into Och-Ziffs investments in Africa. Defendants Och-Ziff, Daniel Och, and Joel Frank have filed a joint motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 23) and Defendant Michael Cohen has filed a separate motion to dismiss. (Dkt. No. 26.) For the reasons that follow, the motion filed by Cohen is granted and the motion filed by Och-Ziff, Och, and Frank is granted in part and denied in part.

I. Background

The following facts are taken from the Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint (the “Complaint”) and are assumed true for the purpose of this motion. (See Dkt. No. 17 (“Compl.”).)

Och-Ziff is a publicly traded asset management firm. (Compl. ¶ 22.) It was founded in 1994 by Daniel Och, who currently serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”). (Id. ¶ 16.) Joel Frank is Och-Ziffs Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”). (Id. ¶ 17.) Michael Cohen is a former Och-[573]*573Ziff employee. (Id. ¶ 115.) Prior to his resignation in 2013, Cohen managed Och-Ziffs African investments. (Id.)

This dispute concerns investments Och-Ziff allegedly made in Zimbabwe, Libya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the “Congo”). Plaintiffs contend that Defendants violated the Exchange Act both by misrepresenting an SEC and DOJ investigation into Och-Ziff and by failing to disclose that Och-Ziffs investments contravened the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and United States sanctions.

A. Och-Ziffs Investments in Africa

Plaintiffs’ allegations involve three deals: (1) a loan to secure platinum mining rights in Zimbabwe; (2) loans to acquire control of oil and mines in the Congo; and (3) transactions with Libya’s sovereign wealth fund. These deals (collectively, the “African Transactions”) took place between 2008 and 2011.

1.Platinum Mining Rights in Zimbabwe

According to Plaintiffs, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe financed his 2008 reelection by seizing and selling the rights to develop the country’s richest platinum claims. (Id. ¶¶ 44-45, 53.) Plaintiffs contend that an Och-Ziff subsidiary provided a loan to the company that acquired the platinum rights and thus gave material support to the Mugabe regime. (Id. ¶¶ 44, 51.)

The alleged loan deal involves three companies: the Central African Mining and Exploration Company (“CAMEC”); Todal Mining Ltd. (“Todal”); and Lefever Finance Ltd. (“Lefever”). CAMEC is a corporation that invests in African mining operations. (Id. ¶ 45.) Todal is a Zimbabwean company that held platinum mining rights prior to the alleged deal. (Id. ¶ 46.) Lefever is a corporation that owned sixty percent of Todal. (Id.) The other forty percent of Todal was held by the Zimbabwean Mining Development Corporation (“ZMDC”), an entity owned by the Zimbabwean government. (Id.)

CAMEC acquired Lefever in April 2008, several months before the presidential runoff election in Zimbabwe. (Id. ¶¶ 48, 52, 56 n.3.) CAMEC paid for Lefever — and by extension a stake in Todal’s platinum rights — -with a combination of cash, stock, and a $100 million no-interest loan. (Id. ¶ 48.) Plaintiffs allege that an Och-Ziff subsidiary financed the loan. (Id. ¶¶ 47-49.) Specifically, they assert that an Och-Ziff subsidiary purchased 150 million shares in CAMEC for $100 million in March 2008, several weeks before CAMEC acquired Lefever. (Id. ¶¶ 48-49.) Plaintiffs appear to allege that Lefever gave the $100 million it received from CAMEC to the government of Zimbabwe, which “is synonymous with the Mugabe ... regime.” (Id. ¶¶ 46, 51.)

2.Oil and Mining Deals in the Congo

Plaintiffs’ second set of allegations involves loans to “Israeli mining magnate” Daniel Gertler. (Id. ¶¶ 6, 60-61.) In “the spring of 2008,” Och-Ziff and another company gave Gertler a $115 million loan, followed by an additional $9 million loan. (Id. ¶ 61.) Gertler allegedly used those loans to finance a deal for “a valuable copper and cobalt mine in southern Congo called Kalukundi.” (Id.) Plaintiffs also allege that Och-Ziff made a $110 million loan to Gertler in November 2010. (Id. ¶ 65.) Gertler allegedly used the third loan “to start developing an oil concession ... on Lake Albert between Congo and Uganda.” (Id.)

3.Development Deals in Libya

The third set of allegations concerns transactions with the Libyan Investment Authority (“LIA”), a sovereign wealth fund controlled by the son of Colonel Moammar Gaddafi. (Id. ¶ 69.) According to Plaintiffs, [574]*574Och-Ziff “persuaded the LIA to invest hundreds of millions of dollars” in Och-Ziff funds. (Id. ¶ 75.) Plaintiffs also allege that, between 2008 and 2009, Och-Ziff secured a contract to build “an expensive luxury hotel in Tripoli” by using a “fixer” named Mohamad Ajami, who helped to broker the deal. (Id. ¶ 72.) Plaintiffs also allege that Magna Holdings, a corporation in which Och-Ziff owns shares, won contracts from the Libyan government “to build office blocks in Tripoli” at some unspecified date. (Id. ¶ 74.)

B. SEC and DOJ Investigation

The SEC and DOJ began to investigate Och-Ziffs investments in Africa (the “SEC-DOJ Investigation” or “Investigation”) in or before 2011. (Id. 11112.) Beginning in 2011, Och-Ziff started to receive “subpoenas from the SEC” and “requests for information” from DOJ in connection with the Investigation. (Id.) According to Plaintiffs, the Investigation “prob[es] Och-Ziffs transactions with the Government of Zimbabwe, Och-Ziffs involvement in Congolese oil and mine deals, and Och-Ziffs transactions with the [LIA].” (Id. ¶ 4.) To date, the details of the Investigation are not public and neither agency has filed suit against Och-Ziff. (Dkt. No. 24 (“First Def.’s Mem.”) at 2.)

C. Och-Ziffs Statements to Investors

This action concerns four statements that Och-Ziff made in SEC filings. The first statement appeared in Och-Ziffs annual Form 10-K filing on February 27, 2012:

We are not currently subject to any pending judicial, administrative or arbitration proceedings that we expect to have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition. We may from time to time be involved in litigation and claims incidental to the conduct of our business. Like other businesses in our industry, we are subject to scrutiny by the regulatory agencies that have or may in the future have regulatory authority over us and our business activities, which results in regulatory agency investigations and litigation related to regulatory compliance matters.

(Id. ¶ 78.) The February 2012 filing also included assertions about Och-Ziffs transparency and risk management practices.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
164 F. Supp. 3d 568, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19083, 2016 WL 634079, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/menaldi-v-och-ziff-capital-management-group-llc-nysd-2016.