Sanlam staff to be investigated

FINANCIAL services group Sanlam will investigate employees at its Vincent, East London, branch who were implicated in an apparently improper drafting of various wills purportedly on behalf of well-known former Gonubie resident Stuart Doveton Helps.

According to a judgment of the Grahamstown High Court, Sanlam Trust Vincent employee Lesley Stoffberg drafted the will that led to her husband, Dirk – who is also Helps’ stepson – inheriting Helps’ Gonubie house.

But before she drew up the final will, which saw her husband inheriting the bulk of Helps’ estate, she drafted three former wills – which also named Dirk as the main beneficiary.

These three wills did not pass legal muster and seemed to have been fraudulently drawn up, the high court found.

Judge Jeremy Pickering found Lesley to have been utterly dishonest in the drafting of these three wills – all of which were “witnessed” by friends, family and colleagues at the Vincent branch of Sanlam.

In the case of one of the wills, Helps signature was in fact a photocopy and not the required “wet ink” signature.

Pickering ordered that his judgment be referred to the CEO of Sanlam Trust.

Legal advisor at Sanlam Life, PG Jonker, said in response that it was evident the employees concerned had acted contrary to Sanlam protocol.

“It is evident that disciplinary action may need to be considered against implicated staff,” Jonker said.

He said the judgment had been referred to a compliance team to study it fully and to implement remedial and disciplinary steps to address what he termed the “deviant actions”.

“If need be, these actions may include the laying of criminal charges.”

Pickering reluctantly ruled that a challenge to the final will could not succeed as, despite showing previous wills were wanting, the final one seemed above board.