The Ottoman Fund's shares suspended

The Ottoman Fund's shares have been suspended on AIM pending publication of its half-year report.

It said, in a regulatory filing at 10:30 BST, that its shares had been suspended as directors remained in talks seeking to recover allegedly embezzled shareholder funds, as well as sort out other legal issues in Turkey.

The Ottoman Fund said this included a loan held by Mandalina of about £1m, which directors believed was held in a Turkish bank account, as well as civil and criminal proceedings against the company's former chief financial officer for about £1m.

"Both these issues have reached a critical stage which has created a material uncertainty with regard to the publication of the Company's half-yearly report," the company said.

"The board is working hard to get clarity on these points as soon as possible in the interests of shareholders, following which it expects to be able to publish its half-yearly report and resume trading on AIM," it said in a statement.