Photos supplied by Sino-Forest. Photo of one of their Gaoyao Particle Board operation in the city of Gaoyao, province is Guangdong and country is China .
Paulson & Co., which until recently was Sino-Forest's largest shareholder, has sold its entire position in the company.
"Due to the uncertainty over Sino-Forest's public disclosures and financial statements, we have sold our stock and await the results of the independent committee's investigation," the hedge fund said in a statement released by its public relations firm.
The announcement was made public in a regulatory filing for the period ending June 17. The disclosure states that Paulson's position has fallen from 34,714,300 shares to zero, meaning the company has sold its entire 14.1 per cent stake.
The filing does not disclose the date on which the securities were sold, or over how long a period they were sold.
However, a few days after Muddy Waters released its report full of allegations against Sino-Forest, the company said in an interview that management had been in touch with John Paulson, who heads the fund, and he said that he continued to hold his position.
"We are certainly in conversation with him and others to talk about what is going on and things that we need to be doing and the alternatives that the company could undertake to respond to some of these allegations. It has been friendly, supportive and suggestive discussions," said Sino-Forest's chief financial officer David Horsley.
Paulson showed up as a significant shareholder above the 10 per cent threshold in 2008, when the fund held 18.6 million shares, representing a 10.2 per cent stake. That position grew over the next three years and before Sino-Forest's stock started falling in April, Paulson's stake was worth as much as $878-million.
Tim Kiladze