Survé to approach tribunal over ‘abusive’ banks
The Sekunjalo Group will urgently approach the Competition Tribunal in a bid to prove that the banks are abusing their dominance in the sector.
A Cape Times report says Sekunjalo and its chairman, Dr Iqbal Survé, have embarked on a number of legal actions against the country’s biggest banks, most of which have severed ties with some of the companies in the group.
In the latest of a series of legal challenges, the group will ask the tribunal to issue interim orders to the effect that those banks which had closed the company’s bank accounts must restore them.
The group said the banks, including Nedbank, which is in the process of closing the accounts, must be stopped.
It is applying for the interim orders pending the final outcome of a complaint it lodged in December last year with the Competition Commission.
Survé said in an affidavit filed with the Competition Tribunal that the conduct of the banks constituted an abuse of dominance, as prohibited in the Competition Act.
He said that as a result of the anti-competitive strategy employed by the banks, the applicants (the Sekunjalo Group of companies) were unable to compete in the markets in which they operate.
He stated that the conduct of the banks amounted to a group boycott.
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.
