More claims against Gupta mines
Two of the remaining key assets in the now defunct Gupta empire – coal mines Koornfontein and Optimum – are the subject of yet more litigation, coming on top of the roughly 50 court cases batted away by the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) over the last two years, notes a Moneyweb report.
A company called Westdawn is owed R112.5m by Optimum and is the latest to bring a court action against the mine and the BRPs.
It has filed an application in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) calling for Optimum Coal Mine to be liquidated on the grounds that it is ‘factually and commercially insolvent and unable to pay its debts’.
It previously applied to court for the liquidation of Koornfontein for largely similar reasons.
Deposing for Westdawn, insolvency practitioner Chavonnes Cooper, of CK Trust, says there never was any prospect of rescuing Optimum and that it should have been liquidated some time ago.
‘What the BRPs have done however is to propose an informal winding up of the company, ostensibly disposing of its assets under the auspices of business rescue.’
Westdawn, a mining contractor, says it is also a creditor of Koornfontein. It disputes the claims of Eskom and Centaur Investments as being ‘alleged contractual penalties’ which therefore constitute contingency claims that fall under the Conventional Penalties Act.
At a creditors’ meeting in December, Centaur and the creditors’ committee challenged Eskom’s voting rights.
The matter will now go to arbitration this month to decide what weight Eskom should be given in deciding the way forward for the mines.
Moneyweb also examines the three different business rescue plans published for Optimum.
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.
