A Nova trustee, representing debenture holders, has instituted legal action and initiated regulatory complaints against the Nova Property Group.

This has resulted in a war of words between Jean-Pierre Tromp, trustee of the Nova Debenture Trust, and Connie Myburgh, chair of the Nova Property Group.

This emerged in an ‘official response’ Tromp sent to the Nova board following public comments Myburgh made in a Moneyweb article about liquidation applications brought against several Nova subsidiaries for the non-payment of outstanding accounts.

The Nova Debenture Trust is a central component of the Sharemax rescue scheme, as it governs the terms and conditions under which the debentures – issued to the majority of the 18 700 former Sharemax investors – must be repaid.

The trustee is responsible for protecting the interests of the debenture holders under the Trust Deed and acts, in essence, as a representative of the debenture holders.

Tromp’s response also reveals that he has laid a complaint about Nova’s financial position and ability to conduct business as a going concern with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission.

Tromp is also preparing a complaint against Nova’s auditor, ARC Inc, and will submit it to the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors before the end of July.

Myburgh responded to Tromp’s letter, denying all his claims and stating that Tromp is acting beyond his mandate and that the breakdown in their relationship was due to the ‘disingenuous and obstructive’ conduct of Tromp and the ‘obnoxious’ behaviour of his former legal representative.

In his official response, Tromp revealed that he has initiated legal proceedings against Nova for refusing to provide several documents which he believes are essential to fulfilling his duties as trustee and to which he is entitled under the Nova Debenture Trust Deed.

Tromp states in court papers that he needs this information to engage directly with debenture holders in his capacity as trustee.

‘Nova Group has consistently and blatantly denied me access to this information,’ Tromp wrote.

In response, Myburgh labelled Tromp’s comments as ‘inaccurate’ and stated that Tromp had been provided with comprehensive management accounts and other documents that ‘he is entitled to receive’ under the Debenture Trust.

He also stated that Tromp should not have placed his affidavit in the public domain, alleging that Tromp did this ‘to influence Moneyweb and create negative bias towards the Nova’. Myburgh also said that Nova was unaware of the CIPC complaint.

Full Moneyweb report