that no Aurum+ shareholders had ever been issued shares in the business, despite five years of capital raises that apparently accumulated $15 million, Mr K said he “panicked”.
Mr K said Mr Bates always paid his driver bills, except the last trip in which he drove Mr Bates’ mother, Nada Bates, from Double Bay to Palm Beach and then back again.approached Mr Bates with questions on Thursday, but his defamation lawyer said that Mr Bates did not have enough time to respond to these questions.
According to shareholder agreements, Mr K invested $US100,000 in Aurum+, a wellness start-up that bills itself as an anti-stress supplement provider, in April 2021. He was issued what appears to be a share certificate issuing him 50,000 shares.Mr K remembers Mr Bates describing an offer by US military branch DARPA to acquire Aurum+ for $US180 million, but turned down the offer as it didn’t realise the full potential of the business.