MBABANE-ESWATINI: Controversial South African businessman David Van Niekerk faces fresh allegations of bribing key officials at Eswatini’s financial watchdog.
Status Capital Building Society in Eswatini claims that Van Niekerk bribed the chairman and a board member of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA).
The Business Weekly & Review has learned that Van Niekerk allegedly paid bribes to Senzo Hlatshwayo, the FSRA chairman, and Joel Dlamini, a member of the FSRA Board of Directors.
Auto Sibusiso Dlamini, Acting Managing Director of Status Capital and Head of Information Technology (IT) expressed disappointment over the FSRA’s conduct toward the building society, calling it unprecedented. He suggested the behavior could be explained by the alleged capture of FSRA officials by Van Niekerk and his associates, accusing them of harboring ulterior motives and bias against Status Capital. These accusations are part of an application filed by Status Capital against the FSRA and Bimal De Silva, the curator appointed by FSRA to manage the society’s affairs.
Status Capital is seeking a court order to suspend the directive issued by FSRA on December 10, 2024, which requires the building society to immediately cease performing transactions on all its bank accounts without FSRA’s permission. Additionally, Status Capital has applied to suspend certain conditions imposed on its license. The society contends that the FSRA’s decision to appoint a curator lacks legal validity, rendering the curator powerless to act on its behalf pending Part B of the application.
In Part B, Status Capital seeks an order to review and set aside the FSRA directive of December 10, 2024, declaring it null and void. It also requests that the conditions and restrictions placed on its license be lifted and that the FSRA’s decision on December 17, 2024, to appoint a curator be reviewed, set aside, and declared invalid.
In Status Capital’s founding papers, Auto Sibusiso Dlamini argued that the society is unlikely to recover the funds owed by Swaziland Debt Factoring Firm (Pty) Ltd (SDFF) and Status Asset Management (Pty) Ltd (SAM). “As already explained, Mr. Van Niekerk is the orchestrator behind the fraud scheme using the aforesaid companies and Ecsponent, and certain individuals at the FSRA are attempting to protect him,” Dlamini claimed.
He alleged that SDFF and SAM were used by Van Niekerk as vehicles to commit financial crimes. “Mr. Van Niekerk stole money from the applicant (Status Capital) using the vehicles of SDFF and SAM.
The FSRA is acutely aware of the fact and the involvement of Mr. Van Niekerk and his associates. The conduct of Mr. Van Niekerk was set out in detail in a report produced by Grant Thornton Accountants for the FSRA,” said Dlamini.
In June 2021, the FSRA issued a directive instructing Status Capital to disinvest its investments in SDFF and SAM. However, the two companies unlawfully refused to comply with this directive and ceased making monthly interest payments, causing liquidity issues for Status Capital. Dlamini stated that the society had invested approximately E100 million in SDFF and SAM, both controlled by Van Niekerk.
“He is also the alleged mastermind behind Ecsponent Eswatini Limited, which has caused innocent members of the public to lose hundreds of millions of Emalangeni,” Dlamini alleged. He added that documents indicate Van Niekerk is the beneficial owner of SDFF and has facilitated bribes to key FSRA officials. The validity of these claims is yet to be tested in court, as FSRA has not yet filed its response.
Status Capital’s legal counsel, Phesheya Maphalala of S.V. Mdladla and Associates, filed the application ex parte (without notifying the respondents). However, the court ordered that the respondents be served with the papers. The named respondents include Senzo Hlatshwayo and Joel Dlamini.
Dlamini further alleged that Status Capital filed applications to liquidate SDFF and SAM to recover its investments, but the FSRA opposed these applications. According to him, the FSRA threatened to destroy Status Capital by placing it under curatorship or liquidation if it persisted. Despite these threats, Status Capital has not withdrawn its liquidation application, prompting the FSRA to allegedly take unlawful actions against the society.
“The unlawful steps taken by the FSRA include issuing illegal directives, imposing restrictions on the applicant’s licenses, and appointing a curator without defining the curator’s powers, functions, and duties, as required by Section 71(2) of the FSRA Act,” Dlamini submitted. He argued that these threats were made during a December 4, 2024, hearing on the SDFF liquidation application after the court raised concerns about FSRA’s motives. Instead of disputing these claims, Dlamini alleged, FSRA acted on its threats to destroy Status Capital.
