The liquidation came two months after Hemisphere Technologies and Kaspersky Lab UK became locked in a legal battle spanning two countries, over the alleged non-payment of royalties to the cyber security software vendor.
The two companies were involved in legal proceedings in both Australia and Sweden to settle a dispute in which, according to court documents, Kaspersky alleges that Hemisphere Technologies owes it royalties from several months' worth of distribution partnership between the two businesses.
A cross-claim by Hemisphere Technologies subsequently alleged Kaspersky had breached elements of its contract with the distributor.
However, Hong Kong-based investor, Harry Cheung, joined Hemisphere Technologies in December as a new company shareholder, effectively acquiring the distributor’s assets and leaving behind a shell company in the process.
In 2008, Cheung took the role of managing director of Kaspersky Lab Asia Pacific, introducing the business to the market virtually from scratch, forming a close working relationship with Mamonitis, who was the vendor’s A/NZ managing director until February 2016.
Now, the shell company, known as A.C.N. 152 546 453 Pty Ltd (formerly known as Hemisphere Technologies Pty Ltd), is in liquidation.
However, during a creditors’ meeting in January, Bird & Bird associate, Matthew Mulcahy, representing Kaspersky Lab, raised concerns over the liquidation of the company formerly known Hemisphere Technologies.
Mulcahy advised that his client was concerned that a new company, also named Hemisphere technologies had been created to carry on the company’s business, pointing out that former Hemisphere Technologies managing director, Andrew Mamonitis, was a director of the new company.
For his part, Mamonitis has denied any wrongdoing, stating that he was an employee of Hemisphere Technologies and, as such, has no involvement at all with the liquidated company.
In March, however, the new business, which briefly also took on the name, Hemisphere Technologies, went through a rebranding, emerging with the new name,Thousand Hands Technologies.
Thousand Hands Technologies sits under the larger Chinese company, Thousand Hands.
Mamonitis told ARN that the new entity has no bearing on the company formerly known as Hemisphere Technologies, even though it bought assets off the distributor.
“No relationships or agreements were brought forward from the other entity,” he said. “This is a brand new entity with nothing to do with Hemisphere technologies.”
