Liquidator Moves To Have Seretse, Sibisibi and Others Repay Bluthorn’s P250m

Former minister Vincent Seretse, Kweneng district councillor Jeffrey Sibisibi and former directors of defunct Bluthorn Fund Managers (BFM) must repay more than P250 million that the company allegedly fleeced from creditors, the liquidator of BFM, Kopanang Thekiso, has moved before court. The creditors include councils, land boards, trade unions and individuals. In a report filed with the High Court, Thekiso states: “We claim in the amount of P250,000,000.00 with interest, against Eune Engelbrecht, Joseph Mosimane, Tiyedze Kamodi, Motlamedi Matome and Jeffery Sibisibi…” [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type="show" ihc_mb_who="1,2,3,4" ihc_mb_template="3" ] Thekiso says Sibisibi and the former directors of the company must repay the funds “on the basis that the companies in the Group were being carried out in a reckless manner with the intent to defraud the creditors of the Group and therefore be personally responsible for all the liabilities of the Group”. Further, “we (in the alternative or additionally) apply to the court in terms of Section 478 of the Companies Act to compel the said relevant persons to repay or restore the funds lost in the amount of P250,000,000.00 with interest, on the basis that the relevant persons have misapplied themselves, are accountable and are liable for the missing funds in the Group”.” According to Thekiso, creditors must claim repayment from Sibisibi, Seretse, Engelbrecht and one Molale. “Between the period of 2017 to 2019, Mr Jeffery Sibisibi received a total amount of P2,039,922.80,” he avers in his report. “Mr Sibisibi benefited from use of a house in the Phakalane Golf Estate (the lease agreement specifically refers to him and his wife as the occupants) …” Thekiso further indicates that Sibisibi “received consistent payments of P50,000.00 through this period, even though he ceased being a shareholder and director of BFM and there were no supporting documents of him having been an employee of any of the companies in the Group.” According to the liquidator of BFM, between 26 April 2019 and 29 November 2019, Vincent Seretse received a total amount of P175,000.00 through his company, Galeleo (Proprietary) Limited. “Mr Vincent Seretse alleges that these payments made to him in respect of consultancy services he provided for Practical Housing (Proprietary) Limited,” says Thekiso’s report. “He further alleges that he did not know that the funds he received were coming from the Group.” However, says the report, Seretse “has failed to produce any supporting documents or contracts that he was acting as a consultant for Practical Housing or evidence of any work done for them”. The report asserts that between the 2017 and 2019, Eune Engelbrecht received more than P6,9 million in the form of salaries and other unexplainable payments that were either paid to him or used for his personal benefit. “It has become evident to me that Eune Engelbrecht was the controlling mind behind the formation and the running of the business of the Consolidated Estate,” says Thekiso. “However, Mr. Engelbrecht did not do this alone. “He was assisted by Jeffrey Sibisibi, who was instrumental in introducing a number of key players in the Group, for instance, the appointment Joseph Mosimane as the Chief Executive Officer of the group of companies in the Consolidated Estate and the appointment of an independent director, being Alfred Mokone.” According to Thekiso, when BFM “went into financial difficulties, Mr Sibisibi’s shareholding (which he claimed he had acquired through ‘sweat capital’) was then ‘transferred’ to his daughter, Kelebogile Sibisibi (who stays out of the country), which transfer was made without any value.” Thekiso believes that “this transfer was a simulated process intended to deflect and create an impression that Mr. Sibisibi was no longer involved in the business of the Consolidated Estate”. “In reality,” Thekiso avers in his report, “Mr Sibisibi continued to benefit both in terms of monthly payments to his account and was provided a house to live in.” Another person whom Thekiso says must repay is one Molale. “Between the period of 27th April 2019 to 29th November 2019, Ms. Molale received a total amount of P283,500.00.” The liquidator is of the view that these payments are connected to the investment made by PEB into the BFM The liquidator of BFM says the shareholders, directors and management of the companies in the Consolidated Estate (BFM) demonstrated that they were not conversant with the regulatory framework within which the companies needed to operate, especially in the business of collective investment undertaking. “As a result, they had a completely different approach to running BFM to what the law and the regulators expected,” he sates in the report. “BFM was registered as an Investment Company with Variable Capital under the CIU (Collective Investment Undertakings) Act but was operating as a deposit taking and micro lending entity; basically, operating as a bank.” He notes that the prospectus provided to NBFIRA by the officers of BFM, which was used to market its products to the public, significantly misrepresented BFM’s actual activities. There were no processes, policies or guiding principles governing the so-called investment committee, Thekiso says. “Astonishingly,” says the report, “the expenses of the companies in the Consolidated Estate were paid out of invested funds from creditors instead of revenue earned by BFM or other group companies.” [/ihc-hide-content]

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Liquidator Moves To Have Seretse, Sibisibi and Others Repay Bluthorn’s P250m

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