Dukas PR is working with Muddy Waters Research, the small research firm making waves by targeting Chinese companies for fraud.
MWR is led by Carson Block, a California-based analyst with business experience in China who was dubbed by The Economist this summer as an “alarm-bell for investors in Chinese companies.”
Block made a splash in June when he issued a detailed report accusing Chinese forestry company Sino-Forest Corp. of “aggressively committing fraud,” sparking probes of S-F’s books and a PR crisis that led the company to hire Brunswick Group.
Block’s latest target is Focus Media Holdings, a Chinese digital media network which he questions for “phantom acquisitions,” alleged overpayments, possibly overstating the size of its LCD display network, and “management self-dealing that continues to this day.”
Focus Media issued two lengthy statements following the release of Block’s Nov. 21 report, denying the allegations “entirely” and saying the research is based on matters long disclosed, misrepresented and steeped in innuendo.
Richard Dukas, president and CEO of the New York-based financial and professional services PR firm, said he’s been working with global media, including in China, since last month on behalf of Block’s MWR.
Block told The Economist he has received death threats and CNBC reported that MWR’s website was hacked shortly after the Focus Media report was released.
Dukas’ PR roster includes Raymond James, Gamco Investors and the Credit Union National Assn.