Several companies forming part of the Hili Ventures group have been hit with legal action by former executive Georgios Kakouras after his dismissal earlier this year.

Malta Stock Exchange-listed Hili Properties and Harvest Technologies announced on Friday (today) evening that Mr Kakouras – who previously as the companies’ Managing Director and CEO, respectively – has started legal proceedings, contesting his termination and claiming unpaid compensation for services rendered.

Mr Kakouras was temporarily suspended from his roles in January pending the outcome of an internal investigation. The companies confirmed his permanent dismissal upon conclusion of the investigation in late February.

Hili Properties is now being accused of wrongful termination before the Employment and Industrial Tribunal. Harvest Technologies and its subsidiary Apcopay Limited have meanwhile been named as defendants in Court proceedings wherein Mr Kakouras is claiming payment for services rendered to the two companies.

The former executive has also instituted a precautionary garnishee order against Harvest Technologies and Apocopay Limited.

The companies firmly deny Mr Kakouras’s allegations.

Hili Properties said it “intends to defend its position before the Tribunal vigorously” and will “take all steps as may be appropriate to protect its interests and to uphold the integrity of the process it undertook.”

In a lengthier reaction, Harvest Technologies noted that Mr Kakouras had been seconded to itself and to Apcopay Limited from Hili Properties, arguing that any claim for remuneration should be addressed to that firm.

Responding to the “unwarranted and disproportionate” garnishee order, Harvest Technologies said: “The company's financial position is strong, and the Board therefore finds Mr Kakouras’s actions particularly surprising considering that, not least by virtue of the senior position he held within the group, he would have had, or ought to have had, full visibility of the financial soundness of both the company and its subsidiary.

“The institution of precautionary garnishee orders in these circumstances is therefore considered by the Board to be an excessive and unjustified step,” it said.

Mr Kakouras, a Greek national, had served as former national lottery operator Maltco’s COO between 2013 and 2019. He joined Apcopay in 2019, gaining other leading positions within Hili Ventures portfolio companies in the following years.