Broker Who Led Ouster Effort at ICN Quits Post : Resignation: Rafi Khan did not give reasons for his abrupt departure as a director of RKS Group of Beverly Hills.

Rafi Khan, the stockbroker who led a drive to oust the founder of ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Costa Mesa, has resigned as a director of the Beverly Hills brokerage where he worked, the company said Thursday.

Khan’s oral resignation from the seven-member board of RKS Financial Group Inc. and its brokerage unit, Reynolds Kenrick & Stratton, was effective Wednesday, general counsel Garry McAllister said.

“Mr. Khan made the decision on his own,” McAllister said. “He really didn’t give any reasons. He only indicated that it was in his best interest to do so.”

Khan could not be located to comment on his abrupt departure. A woman who answered the phone at Khan’s desk said that it has been cleaned out.

The brokerage said that Khan’s longtime associate, Burke Trafton, is also leaving the company. He, too, was unavailable for comment Thursday.

Khan was elected a director of the company in August, McAllister said, and owns 14.2% of RKS’ stock. A new board member will be chosen soon to replace Khan, he said.

Since coming to RKS Financial Group in March from the brokerage H.J. Meyers & Co., also in Beverly Hills, Khan has become embroiled in two lawsuits.

The first centers on Khan’s efforts to launch a proxy battle against ICN board members and to oust Chairman Milan Panic. Khan, who owns about 1% of ICN’s stock, said he would replace the board with business people whom he would handpick.

ICN then sued Khan, formerly an institutional broker who specialized in selling stock for the pharmaceuticals company, accusing him of using inside information to solicit shareholder support.

The company has also accused Khan of violating federal racketeering statutes and in April secured a court order barring him from soliciting shareholder votes. A federal judge in New York overturned that order last month, but it was recently reinstated, ICN spokesman Paul Knopick said Thursday. The legal action between Khan and ICN is ongoing.

Whether Khan’s resignation will affect the ICN lawsuits or if he will continue his quest to overthrow the board and oust Panic was not clear Thursday.

Panic, a former Yugoslav prime minister who came under fire from Khan and other disgruntled shareholders for his management style and the amount he was paid by the company, was not available for comment.

Knopick predicted that the company will ultimately prevail. “Our only concern is that Khan has enough money to pay the damages to satisfy our claims,” he said.

Khan is also involved in a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against Future Communications, a Dallas-based cable TV programmer. Khan and his clients hold 2.6 million shares--or 75%--of that firm’s stock.

In a lawsuit filed three days ago, the SEC accused Future Communications officials of, among other things, manipulating the company’s stock price.

Khan and RKS have been in a legal battle with five other brokerages involved in buying and selling Future Communications stock, trading in which was halted on Aug. 31. The five brokerages filed a lawsuit Sept. 3 accusing Khan of stock manipulation. A hearing is scheduled for later this month in New York.