The Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) on Thursday filed an application with the High Court for the provisional liquidation of Capital Management Botswana (CMB).
The application which places CMB out of Statutory Management by former High Court Judge Peter Collins is before Lobatse High Court Judge Mercy Gaorekwe.
NBIFIRA has appointed John Little as the provisional liquidator following a running battle between CMB
And the country’s biggest pension fund Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF).
Preliminary investigations by the Statutory Manager and the Directorate on Corruption and economic Crime suggests that millions of Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) money entrusted to CMB to invest may have been diverted to line pockets of company directors.
In July 2018 the Court of Appeal (CoA) panel consisting of CoA President Judge Ian Kirby, Judge Brand and Judge Walia confirmed the appointment of Peter Collins as the CMB Statutory Manager.
A report filed with the High Court recently has revealed that more than 170 000 Public Office Pensioners whose pension entitlements are being managed by CMB may have lost P230 million of their pension money.
When contacted for comment on Friday NBFIRA legal representative Lead Partner at Armstrongs Attorneys Sipho Ziga confirmed the provisional liquidation of CMB but would not discuss details. He stated the matter was before the High Court and as such he was restricted from sharing full details.
“The right processes should be followed such as public notification on the matter,” said Ziga.
He also confirmed that the return date of the matter at the High Court is 19th September 2018.
The Court of Appeal ruled few weeks ago that Justice Motumise “was in error, to grant an order reviewing and setting aside NBIFIRA’s decision to appoint a statutory manager and that portion of his decision must be set aside.”
This was after Justice Motumise refused to confirm NBIFIRA’s appointment of former High Court Judge Peter Collins as CMB statutory manager.
