Oakbay sticking to its guns in court battle with Gordhan

GUPTA-owned Oakbay Investments, which is embroiled in a legal battle with Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, says it will continue to fight his legal bid.

The company’s acting chief executive, Ronica Ragavan, said in a statement yesterday that the group would continue to argue for Gordhan’s application to be dismissed.

Its statement follows a Tuesday preliminary decision in which the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled that mention made in the minister’s court papers of 72 suspicious transactions involving the Gupta family and their companies had to be “stricken out” of the papers.

Oakbay Investments wanted the court to strike out a certificate issued by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) referring to 72 transactions involving the Guptas and companies affiliated to them.

These transactions were cited in Gordhan’s application in which he seeks a declaratory order that he has no powers to intervene in the relationship between banks and its clients. That move came after several of the country’s largest banks closed accounts of Gupta-linked companies, which the family – in August – claimed threatened the livelihood of thousands of staff.

Ragavan said the company had “suffered unjustified and severe reputational damage as a result of the minister’s application. His inclusion of the FIC report and Deputy Minister (Mcebisi) Jonas’s affidavit, which were both struck off yesterday, clearly demonstrate the motives that sit behind the application.

“We will continue to argue in court for this unnecessary application, which is a waste of taxpayers’ money and the court’s time, to be dismissed. As the architect of the application and the campaign to smear Oakbay, if anyone is to withdraw it should be the minister.”

The court case started a day after Gordhan was summoned home from an international roadshow to the US and UK to sway investors.

His recall, by President Jacob Zuma, sparked fears of a cabinet reshuffle and saw the rand plunge.

Ragavan said Oakbay still wanted details of the “suspicious” transactions to prove its innocence. It has repeatedly denied there was anything untoward in the dealings.

“For months we have said the list of 72 transactions has been a tool to smear our name and drive unsubstantiated negative media coverage of our business and our shareholders.

“When attached to a totally unnecessary application, with no contested legal issue, it becomes clear what the finance minister is up to.”