Tycoon claims FNB misled justice system
Cameroonian business tycoon El Hadj Ahmadou Baba Danpullo believes FNB misled the justice system with its decision to seize and liquidate all properties belonging to him in SA.
The Sunday Independent reports that Baba Danpullo said the decision was not justifiable.
His properties, valued at R4bn, were seized and liquidated in 2020. The FNB decision came after Baba Danpullo contracted a loan of about R520m from FNB to purchase 1 Thibault building in Cape Town in 2017, with a repayment of R10m a month to be spread over 10 years, with interest.
He said the liquidation was not justified because he has been paying every month, as per the agreement with FNB.
He added: ‘South African justice, which I respect, has been misled by FNB and it is not too late to do the right thing, because nowhere in the world assets of more than R4bn would be liquidated to recover the sum of R520m. The liquidation was not justifiable because my companies were able to pay this sum of R520m.’
He said FNB’s decision angered the people of Cameroon and was a subject of discussion in Parliament: ‘The Cameroonian Parliament was indignant at what happened to me during the session of 23 November 2022. The Parliament asked the government to step up all measures for my diplomatic protection, a victim of the spoilation of assets in SA.’
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.
