Gupta firms slug it out in High Court
The Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) heard arguments yesterday in a case between Gupta-owned companies, in which Oakbay – the family's holding company – is seeking an order to have Tegeta Exploration and Resources' business rescue practitioners removed.
Oakbay owns 29% of Tegeta, which operates Optimum Coal Mine, Optimum Coal Terminal and Koornfontein – all of which are under business rescue. The troubled mining firm, which once had a contract to supply Eskom with coal, is also seeking a liquidation order against Oakbay, due to unpaid debt, says a Fin24 report.
In September, business rescue practitioners – appointed to rescue Tegeta Exploration and Resources – lodged an application to have the Guptas' Oakbay Investments liquidated. This stems from a claim that Oakbay owes Tegeta about R2.4m in unpaid rent.
Oakbay is disputing the rental claim on numerous grounds, including that the agreement between the parties was cancelled in September 2018. Oakbay argued before Judge Sulet Potterill that the Tegeta application ‘is an abuse of process’, sparked by ulterior motives, as there are other remedies to deal with the alleged claim.
The company submitted that the application should be put aside pending the arbitration process.
Judgment was reserved.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
