Despite losing a case in which he sought to prevent The Business Weekly & Review from publishing information about financial mismanagement at GetBucks Botswana (now FirstCred), David van Niekerk has returned to court, seeking yet another interdict to stop the publication from reporting on his financial scandals across Southern Africa.
In his application, Van Niekerk requests that The Business Weekly & Review be interdicted and restrained—directly or indirectly—from reporting on the misappropriation of funds at MyBucks Botswana, the mismanaged E340 million in Eswatini, as well as his new venture, Numeral Group.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Ookeditse Maphakwane of the Lobatse High Court on December 5, 2022, Van Niekerk’s initial urgent application was dismissed, with costs awarded to The Business Weekly & Review, including the fees of two attorneys. Justice Maphakwane dismissed the application on the grounds that Van Niekerk had not met the requirements for an interim interdict. Representing Van Niekerk was Minchin & Kelly, while Rockfall Lekgowe Law Group represented The Business Weekly & Review. Justice Maphakwane noted that Van Niekerk’s recourse should be a defamation claim rather than an interdict, as he could pursue damages if defamation was proven.
In a new urgent application for an interdict, set for a hearing on October 24, 2024, Minchin & Kelly again represents Van Niekerk, while Rockfall Lekgowe Law Group represents The Business Weekly & Review. The matter is scheduled for argument on December 6, 2024, and The Business Weekly & Review is defending its position.
Motivation Behind the Interdict Application
After allegedly mismanaging the Ecsponent and MyBucks group of companies, David van Niekerk has resurfaced with a rebranded company, Numeral Group, formerly owned by Ecsponent. According to its online profile, Numeral Group consists of eight subsidiaries: Aluma Capital, Fintergate, Lndr, Fintech Campus, Business Lndr, CryoSave, Sovereign Fish Exports, and We Buy Businesses. However, some of these subsidiaries are linked to the MyBucks, Ecsponent, and Status scandals. The team managing these subsidiaries includes former staff from MyBucks and Ecsponent.
Van Niekerk is now publicly associated with Aluma, though he claims he was never involved with Ecsponent as a director. However, a forensic investigation by JDH in Eswatini cites emails in which Van Niekerk gives directions to Edwin Soonius, the Country Director of Ecsponent Eswatini, saying, “Let’s be clear – I want to approve your replacement.” In another email, a payroll employee named Annelise van Niekerk informed Ecsponent’s CEO, Gregory, that Van Niekerk had instructed her to include bonuses for Ecsponent staff. Annelise was also copied on an instruction to send Van Niekerk and a finance team member daily bank balances for Ecsponent and its subsidiaries by 10 AM.
Further email exchanges suggest a hidden influence. In one, Gregory informs Van Niekerk of an investigation into Ecsponent Limited by the Financial Services Board (FSB), asking for discretion and stating, “Haven’t informed the board or George, so please keep it to yourself for now.” In another email, Van Niekerk advises Gregory to “put him [referring to George Manyere] back in his box as a non-exec on the listed company.”
This raises questions about Van Niekerk’s actual role at Ecsponent Limited, as Gregory appeared to rely on him for key decisions.
Van Niekerk’s $60 Million windfall from GetBucks
The Business Weekly & Review has revealed that of approximately 9,998,000 shares in GetBucks/MyBucks at its listing, 72 percent were owned by three people close to Van Niekerk: Sunblaze (owned by his sister, Tracey Dillon) with 26 percent, Tailored Investments Limited (linked to Johan Jonck, who had prior associations with Van Niekerk) with 26 percent, and Ecsponent Projects (owned by Eune Engelbrecht, who worked with Van Niekerk at Blue Financial Services) with 20 percent. At the time of listing, Sunblaze and Tailored Investments Limited earned approximately $7.5 million from a secondary sale to British billionaire hedge fund manager Christopher Rokos.
Following the listing, public records indicate that Van Niekerk, Engelbrecht, and Jonck sold a combined 4,552,474 shares to Ecsponent Limited for about $60 million. The remaining 28 percent was held by European family offices, with major stakes by Rokos and Alexander Schuetz, the founder of C-Quadrat and former Supervisory Board Member of Deutsche Bank. Rokos sold some of his shares to Schuetz, recovering his investment but remaining indebted by $10 million following MyBucks SA’s insolvency. Schuetz, however, retained his shares and reportedly lost over $25 million in debt and equity investments in MyBucks S.A.
Origins and Ownership Shifts in GetBucks/MyBucks
GetBucks/MyBucks was initially started by Sunblaze, Tailored Investments Limited, Claude Scholz, and Anton van Zyl. Sunblaze was owned by Van Niekerk’s sister, Tracey Dillon, and TIL was linked to Johan Jonck. Later, Sunblaze and TIL bought out Scholz and van Zyl, who are now partners with Van Niekerk in Numeral Group.
Subsequently, Alex Schuetz and Brainworks acquired a 10 percent share in GetBucks, while Rokos bought 18 percent stake for $7.5 million, allowing Sunblaze and TIL to cash out $3.75 million each, putting them in net profit. Additionally, Ecsponent Projects, a special investment vehicle led by Engelbrecht, acquired a 10 percent stake in both Sunblaze and TIL for $8 million.
In March 2017, Ecsponent Limited bought 1.1 million shares for R272,570,000. Later, in February 2018, Ecsponent and others subscribed for shares valued at $5 million. In December 2018, Ecsponent announced that DTM Capital had sold 1,145,988 shares to Ecsponent Treasury Services for R260,000,000, while Sunblaze sold 352,612 shares to Ecsponent Botswana for P65,000,000 to settle a loan by DTM Capital.
However, records show that DTM did not have the volume of shares it purportedly sold, suggesting that these shares originated from Ecsponent Projects (Bluthorn) and Sunblaze. At the time of resignation, Sunblaze reported holding 1,899,480 shares, of which 352,612 went toward DTM’s settlement and 342,708 toward the Coronado settlement.
On December 24, 2018, Tailored Investments Limited sold 1,953,874 shares in Ecsponent Limited for R250,060,000. The Business Weekly & Review understands that only part of this payment was completed.
What The Business Weekly & Review has established is that Numeral Group is an empty shell which is in exchange part owned by Aluma Capital.Van Niekerk has again raised R80million at Aluma in S.A and E100million at Status Capital in Eswatini. Will these investors once again end like those in Ecsponent and Blue? Clearly the continued law cases are a vain attempt to shut down transparent and honest reporting to protect future investors from potential losses.
