Sharemax auditors' case labelled 'a nullity'
The actual or perceived bias of two members of the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (Irba) disciplinary committee in the disciplinary hearing against three former auditors of Sharemax has made the case a nullity, claimed Advocate Mike Maritz, who is appearing for Jacques Andre van der Merwe, Danie Dreyer and Petrus Johannes Jacobus Bekker.
Maritz was presenting an application this week for the recusal of Sorenzo Sooklal and Horton Griffiths, two members of the disciplinary committee hearing the case, notes a Moneyweb report.
‘All of it becomes a nullity, which is regrettable from our perspective because we say the pro forma has no case and it is a huge imposition to our clients and of course it has been a massively costly exercise. But we cannot escape that conclusion of law,’ he said after referring to several High Court judgments that dealt with alleged bias or perceived bias in disciplinary or other hearings.
The three auditors at the time of the alleged offences were all directors of ACT Audit Solutions Incorporated. They are collectively facing a total of 340 charges related to limited assurance engagement work they did for Sharemax.
All three have pleaded not guilty.
The recusal application follows Griffiths confirming last week that he was a member of the Irba investigating committee between 1995 and 2007, initially as a member but subsequently as chair. Maritz objected to this and some of the questions and statements made by Sooklal to Professor Harvey Wainer, an expert witness for the three auditors.
Maritz also questioned the independence of the evidence of Brian Smith, the expert witness for Irba in the hearing, says the Moneyweb report.
It emerged during the hearing that Smith was part of Irba’s investigation committee from 2004 until 2016, and chair of the committee from 2011 until 2016.
Smith further admitted that he was chair of this committee when it concluded the investigations into the conduct of the three audit practitioners, reached an opinion on their conduct, and passed this on to Irba’s disciplinary advisory committee with a recommendation.
In an apparent reference to the alleged influence of Sooklal and Griffiths on other members of the disciplinary committee, Maritz said: ‘The legal position is quite clear that the well has been poisoned.’ The hearing is continuing.
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.
