Court stays proceedings against TRG board

An ex-employee of Afiniti, testified for an arbitration award against Chishti for sexual harassment and assault

ISLAMABAD:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has stayed proceedings in a district and sessions court in Karachi against the board of directors of The Resource Group International Limited (TRG) in a defamation suit filed by former chief executive officer (CEO) Zia Chishti, the company said in a notice to the stock exchange on Friday.

Last month, a district and sessions judge had ordered the issuance of bailable warrants against various individuals associated with TRG following Chishti’s complaint. A few days later, the SHC ordered the suspension of warrants, followed by the staying of lower court proceedings at a hearing on March 20.

Chishti left TRG in November 2021 after an ex-employee of Afiniti, a TRG portfolio company, testified in a US Congressional hearing for an arbitration award against him for sexual harassment and assault.

The testimony was part of the proposed Congressional bill called “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment”, which was subsequently signed into law by President Joe Biden in early 2022.

Later in 2022, the US Congress released the full text of the award, with damages of $5 million for the ex-employee and findings of non-consensual assault.

Market sources said that since his departure in late 2021, Chishti had unsuccessfully attempted to come back to TRG and the company’s management had blocked those attempts given the gravity of his actions and reputation.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2023.

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