investment. While most Meyer Burger shareholders were excluded from the share placement with an 11% discount, some shareholders were allowed to subscribe, including the Chairman of the Board of Directors Alexander Vogel, who is said to have gained a pecuniary advantage as a result. In addition, Alexander Vogel was criticized by Sentis Capital because the law firm Meyerlustenberger Lachenal AG, where he is a partner, received legal advisory assignments worth 8.3 million Swiss francs during his time as Chairman of the Board of Directors. This corresponded to around 73% of all fees for legal advisory services over the last few years. Remo Lütolf, who presided over the company from May 2, 2019, hardly distanced himself from the former board of directors around Alexander Vogel. The board of directors around Lütolf considered the accusations of the major shareholder Sentis Capital and Elysium Capital in the case of the Oxford deal as baseless. Lütolf had not launched an investigation into the mandates to the law firm of the former chairman of the board of directors. On September 22, 2019, it became known through a press report that the Bern Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Offenses opened a criminal investigation against unknown persons on May 28, 2019, for unfaithful business conduct due to the settlement of an investment in Oxford PV. The criminal investigation does not concern the company, but former or active members of the board of directors. In order to influence the company's strategy, Sentis Capital demanded first two, then one board seat for Sentis Capital. The CEO of the largest shareholder, Anton Karl, proposed Sentis Capital employee Mark Kerekes for the board. A public "mudslinging" ensued between the board and shareholder representatives, in which CEO Hans Brändle threatened to resign if a representative of the Sentis Group was elected to the board. The then Chairman of the Board of Directors around Remo Lütolf and his Vice Franz Richter recommended voting against the election of Mark Kerekes at the Extraordinary General Meeting on October 30, 2019, as he would lack the necessary competence because he had no relevant experience as a board member of a listed company, an industrial company or in the solar industry. Doubts about the election of Mark Kerekes were also raised because Sentis Capital is owned by the Russian investor Petr Kondrashev, who is on the so-called "Putin List" of the US Treasury Department. This list of