Spectrum Group International, Inc. – ‘8-K’ for 2/1/07 – EX-99.1

On:  Wednesday, 2/7/07, at 4:12pm ET   ·   For:  2/1/07   ·   Accession #:  1157523-7-1216   ·   File #:  1-11988

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Current Report   —   Form 8-K
Filing Table of Contents

Document/Exhibit                   Description                      Pages   Size 

 1: 8-K         Escala Group, Inc. 8-K                                 4     18K 
 2: EX-10.1     Material Contract                                     21     91K 
 3: EX-99.1     Miscellaneous Exhibit                                  3±    14K 

EX-99.1   —   Miscellaneous Exhibit

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

Escala Group Announces Criminal Allegations by Spanish Authorities Against      
Former Company Executives Based in Spain          

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 2007--Escala Group, Inc. (Pink       
Sheets:ESCL) today announced that, as part of the investigation in              
Spain into alleged criminal activity in connection with the operations          
of Afinsa Bienes Tangibles, S.A. ("Afinsa"), the Company's majority             
shareholder and formerly its major customer, Spanish public                     
prosecutors have now made allegations of wrongdoing against ten other           
individuals, including two former officers of the Company based in              
Spain.                                                                          

Esteban Perez, formerly the Chief Corporate Strategy Officer of         
the Company and formerly Chairman of its Board of Directors, and Ramon          
Egurbide, formerly the President of the Company's European operations,          
are alleged to have participated in activities that violated various            
provisions of Spanish criminal law. Under a ruling made by the Spanish          
Investigative Court (Juzgado Central de Instruccion de la Audiencia             
Nacional) on February 2, 2007, the claims will now be the subject of            
an investigation by the Investigative Court.                                    

The Company understands that, under Spanish law, after the end of       
the investigative stage, the Investigative Court will determine                 
whether there are grounds to continue to a trial or whether the                 
proceedings should be dismissed.                                                

Mr. Perez was Chief Corporate Strategy Officer of the Company           
until June 30, 2006, and thereafter continued as an employee until the          
Company terminated his employment, effective February 1, 2007. Mr.              
Perez also resigned as a director of the Company as of February 1,              
2007.                                                                           

Mr. Egurbide's employment with the Company terminated as of June        
30, 2006, after which he continued as a consultant to the Company               
until February 2, 2007, when the Company terminated the consulting              
arrangement. The Company is taking steps to remove Mr. Egurbide from            
all positions with the Company's European subsidiaries, including               
Central de Compras Coleccionables, S.L. ("CdC"), which formerly                 
supplied philatelic material to Afinsa. On February 1, 2007, the                
Company appointed George Lumby and Antonio Arenas, members of the               
Company's Board of Directors who were recommended to the Company by             
the trustees of Afinsa in its bankruptcy proceedings (who themselves            
were appointed by a Spanish court), as the new co-administrators of             
CdC.                                                                            

With the departure of Mr. Perez, there are no longer any persons        
serving as directors or executive officers of the Company who had been          
associated with Afinsa prior to the judicial intervention on May 9,             
2006.                                                                           

The Company also announced that it has withdrawn its appeal of the      
decision by the NASDAQ Listing Panel to de-list the Company's                   
securities from trading on the NASDAQ Global Market. The Company will           
continue to explore options for the listing of its common stock on a            
securities exchange, including a possible application to re-list its            
securities on NASDAQ.                                                           

About Escala Group, Inc.                                                

Escala Group is a consolidated global collectibles network. The         
Company is a leading auctioneer of stamps, coins, arms, armor and               
militaria, and other memorabilia, targeting both collectors and                 
dealers. Escala is also a merchant/dealer of certain collectibles and           
trader of precious metals. The Company's collectibles offerings span            
the modest to ultra high-end price spectrum. Escala conducts its                
operations in two business segments: collectibles and trading.                  

Escala's Group Companies focused on philately are Greg Manning          
Auctions, Ivy & Manning Philatelic Auctions, H.R. Harmer, and Nutmeg            
Stamp Sales, all of North America; Corinphila Auktionen of Zurich,              
Switzerland and the Kohler group of auction companies of Berlin and             
Wiesbaden, Germany from our European division; and John Bull Stamp              
Auctions, Ltd, the oldest philatelic auction house in Hong Kong in our          
Asia division. Escala's Group Companies in its numismatics division             
include Teletrade, Bowers and Merena Auctions, North American                   
Certified Trading, and Spectrum Numismatics International, one of the           
largest wholesalers of rare coins in the U.S. Greg Martin Auctions is           
in the Company's art and antiques division.                                     

The trading activities of Escala Group are conducted through            
A-Mark Precious Metals, one of the largest private sellers of bullion           
coins and bullion gold, silver and platinum to the wholesale                    
marketplace.                                                                    

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT                                                   

Statements in this press release that relate to future plans,           
objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are                  
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private                  
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange            
Act of 1934. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or            
in the aggregate, could cause actual results to differ materially from          
those expressed or implied in these statements. Factors that may cause          
such differences include changes in market conditions, changes in               
economic environment, competitive factors and the other factors                 
discussed in the "forward-looking information" or "risk factors"                
sections included in Escala Group's filings with the Securities and             
Exchange Commission, including Escala Group's Annual Report on Form             
10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, prospectuses and other documents          
that Escala Group has filed with the Commission. In particular, any             
statement related to Escala Group's expected revenues or earnings or            
Escala Group's being well positioned for future profitability and               
growth are forward-looking statements.                                          

The words "should," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend,"          
"anticipate," "foresee," "plan" and similar expressions and variations          
thereof identify certain of such forward- looking statements, which             
speak only as of the dates on which they were made. Additionally, any           
statements related to future improved performance and estimates of              
revenues and earnings per share are forward-looking statements. The             
Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any               
forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue            
reliance on these forward-looking statements.                                   

CONTACT: Escala Group:                                                  
Matthew Walsh, 212-421-9400                           
mwalsh@escalgroup.com                                 

Dates Referenced Herein   and   Documents Incorporated by Reference

This ‘8-K’ Filing		Date		Other Filings
Filed on:		2/7/07		25-NSE
		2/5/07
		2/2/07
For Period End:		2/1/07
		6/30/06		NT 10-K
		5/9/06		10-Q,  4
				List all Filings