Sharemax cases are still piling up
FOUR OTHER CIVIL CASES DUE SOON Seven years after SA’s biggest property disaster froze billions of rands worth of investors’ money, the ‘rescuers’ get richer and pensioners fade away.
The Hawks have been asked to reopen the criminal investigation into the failed Sharemax investment scheme. At least four other civil cases have already been filed or are on the verge of being filed against the Nova Property Group, the vehicle which is tasked to “rescue” about 33 000 invested in Sharemax – mostly pensioners.
Forensic auditor André Prakke, who has been closely involved with the investigation, confirmed that the National Prosecuting Authority has requested the Hawks reopen it. Another independent source also confirmed this. The original charge was laid in 2010, but not much has happened since then. The lack of an investigation has elicited significant criticism as Sharemax is the largest failed property syndication scheme in SA through which investors lost billions, and no one has been held accountable.
Willie Botha, former Sharemax director, did not want to comment when asked whether he knew of the pending investigation. Dominique Haese, a former Sharemax director and currently CEO of the Nova Group, did not respond to e-mailed questions.
Business is aware of four unrelated civil cases – some of which have not been filed – against the Nova group and its four directors. These directors are Haese, Connie Myburgh (chair), Rudi Badenhorst (FD) and Dirk Koekemoer (property director). Koekemoer was also a director of Sharemax.
Prakke also confirmed that two cases have already been filed in the high courts in Bloemfontein and Durban for later this year.
“In both cases, individual investors are suing Nova, the Nova directors and financial advisors to refund their investments. These are investors that don’t want to be bound by the jurisdictional limits of R800 000, which the FAIS Ombud is limited to. Some of these investments were made after the Reserve Bank’s investigations had started.
“These facts were never disclosed by Sharemax or their brokers in any prospectus issued.”
Two more cases are in the pipeline.
Earlier, Business articles have revealed the four existing Nova directors have acquired 87% of the shares in the Nova group without paying a cent, while about 2 000 debenture holders effectively “paid” R95 million for a collective stake of 4.3%.
The directors’ dominant shareholding also gave them the authority to pay themselves exorbitant salaries – more than R66 million since the inception of the scheme. Yet the directors also suspended all debenture payments to the 31 000 debenture holders in November last year due to the company’s dire financial position.
The Nova directors have, however, persistently denied that their share acquisition was unlawful or that their salaries were excessive.
Information sessions by a broker representing hundreds of investors who wish to take action against several regulators, Deon Pienaar (deonpie@mweb.co.za) will be held tomorrow in Pretoria and Wednesday in Durban.