'Bombshell’ letter flags liquidation funding model
A letter from lawyers for the liquidators of Regiments Capital sent business personalities Litha Nyhonyha and Niven Pillay into a tailspin ahead of an important court hearing yesterday.
As previously reported, Regiments Capital, its owners and shareholders have been accused of being central to the Gupta wave of state capture.
Regiments is in liquidation and money assets worth R1.6bn are under restraint following a court order.
The Daily Maverick reports that the two desperately need money to fund several costly court cases, and the expedited hearing was expected to deal with an application by four of their companies for access to cash from their restrained estate to pay for lawyers.
It includes their battles against the SARS, the NPA, Capitec Bank Holdings, the City of Johannesburg and Lebashe Investment Group.
Instead, the NPA struck back with a postponement application due to the emergence of startling information contained in the liquidators’ letter.
The NPA submitted the 15-page letter from the law firm Tintingers Inc, acting for the liquidators, Willem Jacobus Venter and Kagiso Surprise Dinaka. Dated 31 October, it had been sent to curator Eugene Nel, as well as the NPA, which is opposing the funding application by Regiments Fund Managers, Regiments Securities, Ash Brook Investments 15 and Coral Lagoon Investments 194.
It levels allegations against the Regiments companies and accuses them of having money only for litigation that suits them, of litigating for ulterior purposes and of trying to keep liquidators from properly scrutinising Regiments Capital’s income and payments to Gupta-linked front companies.
Geoff Budlender SC, for the NPA, told the court the NDPP had a duty to make the ‘bombshell’ letter available to the court.
The DM notes that the NPA had initially tried to get the Regiments directors to agree to a postponement of yesterday’s hearing to allow them to respond to the content of the letter. However, those efforts came to nought, prompting the application for a postponement.
Judge Dario Dosio granted the postponement, ruling it was indeed in the interest of justice for the liquidators to provide an affidavit to confirm the content of the letter.
He gave the NPA until 7 December 2022 to obtain and submit this.
The Regiments owners will have until 1 February 2023 to file their answering affidavit, and a new date for the hearing will then be set.
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.
