FSD Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:HUGE)(CSE:HUGE)(FRA:0K9A), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to building a portfolio of innovative assets and biotech solutions for the treatment of challenging neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders, today announced that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “Court”) has dismissed the motion to set aside the arbitration award to FSD Pharma filed by Dr. Raza Bokhari, the former CEO of FSD Pharma and current CEO of Medicus Pharma, Ltd. As disclosed in a press release on May 11, 2023 (https://feeds.issuerdirect.com/news-release.html?newsid=4924606685100137), the Honourable J. Douglas Cunningham, K.C. ruled in favor of FSD Pharma, awarding the Company approximately CDN$2.81 million in costs of arbitration between FSD Pharma and Dr. Bokhari. Dr. Bokhari challenged the ruling to arbitration without avail.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the set aside motion advanced by Dr. Raza Bokhari in its entirety. FSD Pharma brought a cross application for a judgment to enforce the awards. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted this motion.
The judgment cited many adequate reasons for FSD Pharma properly terminating Mr. Raza Bokhari for cause, one such reason cited being:
“In particular, by knowingly and flagrantly breaching the terms of the McEwen J. Judgment and the Hainey J. Injunction, in retaining and paying Santorum, by attempting to divert USD $12 million from FSD’s Canadian bank account to the Bryn Mawr account in the US over which he had control and by attempting to divert funds in the FSD Wheels Up account to his own use, Bokhari breached in a material way, material provisions of the Employment Agreement.”
Dr. Raza Bokhari tried to maintain that the arbitrator did not provide ample explanation why he was found to lack credibility. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice disagreed with this challenge and stated that the arbitrator “considered all of Bokhari’s explanations for his conduct in context and concluded that they were not believable.”
FSD Pharma is delighted with the Court’s decision and will vigorously pursue to collect the monetary awards of over CDN$2.8 million that were awarded by the arbitrator on May 07,2023 plus all accruing interest at a rate of 6%. In addition, the Court also ordered Bokhari to pay FSD Pharma $175,000 to cover its legal costs for his failed set aside motion. Dr. Bokhari was required to put up $150,000 as security for costs before the motion was heard, which he has forfeited. In addition, he is now expected to pay another $25,000 to FSD for the costs for this motion alone.
FSD Pharma Inc. is a biotechnology company with two candidates in different stages of development. Lucid Psychss Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, is focused on the research and development of its lead compounds, Lucid-MS and UNBUZZD™. Lucid-MS is a molecular compound identified for the potential treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. UNBUZZD™ is a proprietary formulation of natural ingredients, vitamins, and minerals to help with liver and brain function for the purposes of potentially quickly relieving from the effects of alcohol consumption, such as inebriation, and restoring normal lifestyle.