(Reuters) - Vape maker Chill Brands said on Monday that Chief Commercial Officer Antonio Russo and Chief Operating Officer Trevor Taylor had transferred the registration of its Chill.com domain to themselves in May, in the latest setback for the British company.

The firm's newly-formed board has also started an investigation into whether advisers appointed by Russo and Taylor assisted them in their actions to allegedly defraud the business.

The duo had taken executive management control over the company and its units until June 4, after CEO Callum Sommerton was suspended in April after allegations around his use of inside information.

"These activities appear to have culminated in the transfer of the domain's registration to an account seemingly held and operated by Antonio Russo," the company's new board, which is chaired by Harry Chathli, said.

The company has initiated actions to recover the ownershipof the domain, it said.

Top shareholder Jonathan Mark Swann in April had called for Russo and Taylor to be removed as directors of Chill Brands and for Chathli to be appointed as a director. The two were removed as directors on June 4, when a new board was appointed.

Chill Brands' board also said it has discovered that payments totalling nearly $400,000 were made from the bank account of the group's U.S. subsidiary to Russo and Taylor's personal U.S. bank accounts on June 3.

The board is seeking an explanation from Taylor and Russo for these payments and "the recovery of these funds through all legal means available," it said.

Russo and Taylor did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment via the social media network LinkedIn. They list themselves as co-founders of Chill.com, according to their LinkedIn profiles.

While the investigations are ongoing, the company was unable to provide a trading update or seek a restoration of trading of its shares.

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)