Absa's debtor's book attached

daveza

daveza

Honorary Master
Joined
Apr 5, 2004
Messages
49,753
Reaction score
21,493
Location
Durbanville, Cape Town
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-03-13-absas-debtors-book-attached

Absa's debtor's book attached
ILHAM RAWOOT | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Mar 13 2009 18:05
A Johannesburg businessman has attached and thereby frozen Absa's entire debtor's book worth R532-billion.

In September 2008 Rico Bernert won an as yet unconfirmed amount of money in damages in a court judgement against Absa.

While the amount has yet to be proven, Bernert claims it will be well in excess of the initially estimated amount of R180-million.

Absa has since decided to appeal the 2008 judgement, which led to Bernert applying for an attachment order on the bank's debtor's book. Bernert was subsequently awarded the attachment order on Tuesday and attached the book on Friday.

Bernert applied for the attachment order as security because he believes Absa will prolong the appeals process in order to delay payment.

"Absa is taking me to [the Supreme Court of Appeal] to waste my time," says Bernert. "The longer Absa takes with the appeal, the longer their debtor's book will be frozen." Bernert claims that Absa now owes him "close on R400-million".

Bernert feels very confident about his case. "I've done nine years of 'street law'," he says, "and I'm 110% confident that Absa will lose".

He adds that Absa's attorneys are appealing the judgement because they "don't want people to see that you can actually take them on".

Bernert initially took Absa to court for damages incurred when the bank claimed that a letter of guarantee they had signed for Bernert to receive investment funding from Sheik Abdullah al Fawaz, a member of the Bahraini royal family, was fraudulently obtained.

Bernert required the investment to manufacture his El Macho military vehicle through his close corporation, Rotrax Cars International.

The claim of fraud led the prince to pull out of the potential deal with Bernert and he refused to do business in South Africa again.

Absa was not available for comment.
Click to expand...

I wonder how long it will take for Absa to withdraw their appeal....
 
Either be over very quickly....

Or ABSA will sink this guy very very slowly and make him destitute.
 
Which specific "debtors" book tho?

I can guarantee you ABSA have more than one... for the different Business Units.
 
ToxicBunny said:
Which specific "debtors" book tho?

I can guarantee you ABSA have more than one... for the different Business Units.
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure a R 532 Billion debtors book will be missed by some and some questions may be asked from share holders as how this has happened.
 
ToxicBunny said:
Either be over very quickly....

Or ABSA will sink this guy very very slowly and make him destitute.
Click to expand...

He has alot of money, and he's more about getting damages paid out from ABSA than anything.

They can't make him destitute as his money is sitting in other banks and offshore etc
 
I wonder how this works on a practical level.

Absa cannot recover from or add any debt to the list ?

If a debt is repaid it becomes the property of Bernert ?
 
Absa got the sheriff to declare the writ invalid if the story in the Sunday Tribune is right

I kinda know that ABSA would find a way around this...
 
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=552&fArticleId=4888609

Absa blocks Bernert's latest stunt

Bank's lawyers persuade sheriff writ is invalid
March 15, 2009

By Wiseman Khuzwayo

For two days this week Johannesburg businessman Rico Bernert had a legal hold over the multibillion-rand debtors' book of Absa.

On Wednesday Bernert obtained a writ from the Northern Gauteng High Court - formerly the Pretoria High Court - that directed the sheriff of the court to attach the debtors' book at Absa's headquarters.

The debtors' book, the records of who and what owes money to an organisation, holds the core information at the heart of any banking operation.

The latest round in the drawn-out legal slugfest between Bernert and Absa ended not with a knockout, but a whimper on Friday when the sheriff of the court was turned away when he tried to serve a writ of execution.

Absa lawyers persuaded the sheriff that his writ was invalid because the high court had not made an order for payment against the bank.

"In terms of the rules of the high court, a notice of application of leave to appeal suspends the effect of the order appealed against and any execution proceedings based on that order," Absa said.

Bernert has successfully sued Absa for damages and costs over its role in the failure of a business venture in 1999. The damages and costs to be paid still have to be quantified.

The bank is appealing the decision at the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Click to expand...

It's comforting to know my bank charges are being used wisely. :mad:
 
oh snap! i heard this story on the radio a few months back and from what he said i hope he wins.
 
I wonder how they decided his failed deal was worth R400 million. It's as if he would have produced a successful vehicle (with such a goofy name) and the Sheik would have bought the right amount with the profit being R400 mil?
 
PeterCH said:
To further increase bank charges for us non-billionaire bank users?
No thank you. Hope he looses.
Click to expand...

Looses what? And how would you 'loose' something?

Grammar aside, as long as it doesn't cost you anything you're fine? Why not consider changing banks if the fees are too high?
 
Albereth said:
Looses what? And how would you 'loose' something?

Grammar aside, as long as it doesn't cost you anything you're fine? Why not consider changing banks if the fees are too high?
Click to expand...

Loses the case. Grammar aside.

At the end he is suing for the cash, existing customers will get to foot the bill.
For me it would be better that he lost. He's looking after his own interests in this, so am I. At the end this isn't a regulatory issue, ordinary customers will
only benefit from increase charges to recoup the costs.

As for changing banks, there is an issue of banks colluding and perhaps another issue of - why should I?

If we lived in a world where justice prevailed and the bank coughed up the money without raising charges - I would say, "Let justice prevail".
 
Last edited:
For those who want Bernert to lose, aren't you just condoning poor corporate governance, inefficiency, a lack of regard for the customer and a host of corporate evils that our society can honestly do without? Fact of the matter is that ABSA (as per their own admission) made a negligent misstatement which resulted in a loss. The High Court has awarded in favour of Bernert. If ABSA isn't successful in its appeal, good for Bernert.

For those who want Bernert to lose, I hope you're never on the receiving end of the kind of treatment Bernert has been subjected to by a large corporate with almost limitless resources at its disposal to squash you should you challenge it. Imagine losing your whole livelihood, everything you had ever worked and a large part of your family (through suicide and divorce) just because of someone else's mistake that you had no control over. In such circumstances, "oops, I am sorry" just doesn't cut it.

If you're worried about the additional costs that you might have to pay as a result of ABSA losing, either hold ABSA (and not Bernert) responsible, or go and bank somewhere else. I wouldn't trust ABSA with my money if this is how it treats its customers anyway.

What amazes me most about this case is the complete arrogance of ABSA - they haven't even made any provision whatsoever for the claim (despite a judgement of the High Court against them)! In my view, this is almost like contempt of court. No way - ABSA should burn, and if they do, its up to us, as customers, to hold it (and not Bernert) accountable.

One last thing, as I understand it, the principal amount is R187m - the difference between this and the R500m/R600m is interest, which is increasing every DAY that ABSA delays their lodging of the appeal. If I was an ABSA shareholder/customer, I'd be getting pretty impatient with it (R187m at +/- 15.5% interest per annum is roughly R76 000 per day, more than R2m per month!)
 
PeterCH said:
Loses the case. Grammar aside.

At the end he is suing for the cash, existing customers will get to foot the bill.
For me it would be better that he lost. He's looking after his own interests in this, so am I. At the end this isn't a regulatory issue, ordinary customers will
only benefit from increase charges to recoup the costs.

As for changing banks, there is an issue of banks colluding and perhaps another issue of - why should I?

If we lived in a world where justice prevailed and the bank coughed up the money without raising charges - I would say, "Let justice prevail".
Click to expand...

By supporting the bank you are most certainly not looking after your best interests at all - unless your sole interest in life is a 50c increase in your banking charges, or a 20c drop in your share price. You've just said that it is okay for the corporate with the deepest pockets to win.

Let give a particularly nasty example - let's imagine for one moment that you're involved in a particularly nasty road accident leaving you needing medical attention for the rest of your life. Do you really want the rest of us to wish you pain and suffering because the RAF, in paying for your care, is going to cost the rest of us more per litre of petrol we buy?
 
I've been following this case from day one and it is uncanny how this individual (Bernert) has so much tenacity. He is really the type of guy that will sue any one that simply looks at him the wrong way. I first googled one of his many many attempts to use the courts to muscle money out of his wife's boss for the breakdown of his marrage which was in the centre of the ABSA fiasco. This guy has successfully sued Sanlam, he won on a technicality and thinks he can get it right again. His case does have merit as ABSA used the incorrect procedure to alert 3rd parties into a possible scam.

He cannot win as ABSA will tie him up until he dies. He will not win as there is justice. Yes the bank has been negligent and should throw him a bone give him a few bar and he should settle with that, because if the truth is known he gets NADA.....:eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X