STATUS CAPITAL RECEIVES E35m AMID ECSPONENT INVESTOR WOES

MBABANE - While thousands of emaSwati investors remain locked in a desperate struggle to recover their funds from Ecsponent, those who invested in Status Capital Building Society (SCBS) have received a glimmer of hope.

It has been reported that a sum of E35 million has been repaid to SCBS by a company allegedly used to siphon off their investments. This development follows SCBS’s legal action in the Republic of South Africa’s High Court, where they claimed to have been defrauded of over E100 million. The Curator of SCBS, Bimal de Silva, confirmed the progress. “We can confirm that there has been a bit of progress in the recovery steps thanks largely to legal steps, taken by the building society to hold the relevant counterparties accountable.”

Misappropriated

De Silva, appointed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to manage SCBS and recover misappropriated funds, further stated: “We are however still currently pursuing recovery of over E100 million owed to SCBS by former SCBS directors and their companies. We are hopeful that by the time we reach the annual general meeting, we will have substantial progress regarding the outcome of our overall efforts to recover these outstanding amounts.”
This confirmation came after this publication sought De Silva’s input regarding the reported E35 million repayment and the subsequent withdrawal of the South African court application against Status Asset Management (Pty) Ltd, an entity allegedly linked to Dave van Niekerk.

De Silva addressed the matter, stating that the information was communicated to him and that the recovery efforts were ongoing. He also confirmed that this matter would be addressed at the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for May 9, 2025, where he intends to provide transparent updates to SCBS members. According to court papers filed by Status Capital in South Africa, SCBS had appointed a company to manage its funds and protect them against African currency devaluation, with a stipulation that at least 50 per cent of the investment capital be invested in Eswatini. The intention was to later withdraw these funds and grow a portfolio directly in Eswatini, once SCBS’s online business lending operations gained traction.

The court papers alleged that funds invested by SCBS were not forthcoming, despite numerous demands. It was further claimed that between 2019 and May 2021, funds from SCBS’s bank account were disbursed to various companies linked to Van Niekerk.

Allegations

The court papers detailed allegations of a complex modus operandi, wherein companies associated with Van Niekerk, including Aluma Capital, Claymore Procurement Solutions, Fintegrate, Swaziland Debt Factoring Firm and Status Management Services, were used to solicit public funds and then reinvest them into other entities under their control.

“Using the re-investment enterprises, funds invested by innocent members of the public are channelled out of the local country and hidden away through a series of further transactions,” the court papers alleged. “Using the different companies and inter-company loans or inter-loans or securities are not repaid.” The documents further claimed that the company in question was established for fraudulent purposes and operated unlawfully, forming part of a larger fraudulent scheme. The court was also informed that property offered as security for the investments was allegedly fraudulently presented, as it was owned through complex legal structures, by Van Niekerk.

The court papers concluded by asserting that liquidating the company would be advantageous to creditors, allowing for a thorough investigation of its affairs and the realisation of its assets.

Meanwhile, last year SCBS suspended payments of monthly interest to its members. There are over 121 investment account holders who were receiving monthly interest from Status Capital. Following the meeting, the members revealed to this publication that they were not happy about the unfortunate news, which was relayed to them.

According to the members, they were told that the organisation’s coffers were dry and had to at least wait for three months and take it from there.

The members noted that following the suspension of the payment of the interest earned, they no longer trusted anything and were doubtful they would ever get back their invested monies.

They stated that some of them had invested in Ecsponent, now Eswatini Investment Group (Pty) Ltd, and such news was a double tragedy to them.

Asked how much they had invested in Status Capital, the members said it was E50 000 and upwards, depending on how much a person received as an exit package from their various areas of employment. They stated that they were warned by officers at Status Capital not to tell or give the information to anyone, but due to their disappointment, they could not keep quiet.

 
According to the members, most of them are pensioners and need the money to survive.  

Salary

“This money was assisting us a lot and we were able to buy sugar, bread, mealie-meal and many other things, because we no longer have a salary,” the members said.

When previously asked about the allegations made by the members, Status Capital Building said it was no secret that the society had faced challenges due to the alleged misappropriation of over E100 million of investor funds by some co-directors.  It alleged diversion of funds had led to substantial delays in the disbursement of monthly interest payments to investment account holders, provoking significant distress among the members.

Meanwhile, some of the investors in SCBS expressed anticipation of the AGM as they were of the belief that it would relieve them of their financial challenges; especially in light of the development which they had received informally.

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