‘Interim relief won’t help Guptas’

EVEN if the Gupta- linked companies succeed in acquiring “interim relief ” from the court’s forcing the Bank of Baroda to keep their accounts open, they will still not be able to pay their employees.

So said Gilbert Marcus SC, for the bank, in his heads of argument delivered in the North Gauteng High Court yesterday.

The Bank of Baroda argued that it no longer wanted to do business with the firms, because of the reputational damage and risks they presented as they were regarded as “politically exposed”.

About 20 Gupta-owned or linked companies approached the court for an interdict. Their accounts are due to be closed on September 30.

These included tech-distribution firm Annex‚ Confident Concepts‚ Sahara Computers‚ VR Laser Services‚ property owner Islandsite Investments 188‚ Koornfontein Mines‚ Oakbay Investments, Optimum Coal Mine‚ Shiva Uranium‚ Tegeta Exploration‚ Westdawn Investments‚ Idwala Coal‚ and Mabengela Investments‚ all of which feature prominently in the leaked Gupta e-mails.

Marcus said that even if the court ordered the Guptalinked companies’ accounts to be retained until December, they would still not be able to pay their staff.

Moreover, he said the bank was not in a position to do so considering it only had a staff complement of 16 members across its entire South African operations.

“The applicants are generating approximately 150 to 200 transactions a week, which have to be subjected to a high level of monitoring.

“Even the bank’s CEO stressed that it is not and never had been set up to commit such resources.”

In just 10 months between September last year and July this year, the companies were said to have engaged in no fewer than 36 suspicious and unusual transactions with a combined value of over R4.25 billion.

This was allegedly in addition to the 72 initially picked up involving companies within the Oakbay group, previously revealed by the then finance minister Pravin Gordhan.

Marcus said the companies had been afforded ample time to wind down their facilities with the bank between July 6 and September 30.

Rafik Bhana, SC, for 15 of the companies, maintained that the termination of the overdraft and calling in of loans without proper notice would cause irreparable harm.

Bhana said that two international banks and four South African banks had already sent the companies away. However, he was unable to give Judge Hans Fabricius the reasons why.

He said that keeping the companies’ accounts open would be highly profitable for the bank as they could charge additional costs.

“After September 30 there is no bank left and 7 000 employees stand to suffer.

“The opening of new accounts pending the outcome of the ruling on December 7 won’t repair the damage that would have been done,” Bhana said.

He added suspicious transactions did not necessarily equate to unlawful transactions. Judge Fabricius said he would rule on the matter on September 21.