Businessman, Mathews Tuwani Mulaudzi has vowed to recoup millions which he lost when he was charged with fraud, theft, money laundering and racketeering relating to a R48 million investment gone wrong with Old Mutual.
His troubles with the insurance giants started in 2014 when, according to media reports, after a dispute with Old Mutual over a R48 million investment he was accused of having ceded to Nedbank.
It was said he later demanded that it be paid to him when it matured following a R33m Investment Frontiers policy with Fairbairn Capital, underwritten by Old Mutual..
City Press reports that according court papers filed by the Assets Forfeiture Unit (AFU), Mulaudzi ceded the policy to Nedbank in return for R37.6m and when he tried to buy back the policy from Nedbank in 2012, the bank refused and Mulaudzi then used the same policy to get an overdraft facility at Absa bank which elicited charges of fraud later to be dismissed by the courts.
Earlier this year, Mulaudzi revealed that not all his assets and more than R105m cash had been returned to him following his acquittal by the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court which found him not guilty of defrauding Old Mutual of R48m.
Mulaudzi, who is the executive chairperson of Luvhomba Group, a company with interests in mining, IT, consulting and retail, says he has been battling to get his assets back and is using all available means to him including reporting his situation to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
“We are still in court rescinding all the judgments and liquidations that came as a result of this mess. I am of course, suing as per the letter from the lawyers. We are going after everyone who was involved in this wrongful accusations and malicious prosecutions which led to the demise of everything I ever worked hard for, but also the damage to my integrity and reputation,” he said.
In its draft order of December 2023, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria argues where Mulaudzi applied to for an urgent application to set aside sequestration order against him and his wife, the court agrees that he is not to blame for his current situation.
“The respondents (creditors, among them, Cash Crusaders) overlooked or disregarded the applicant’s assertion that if it was not for the now dismissed fraudulent claim, they would not have been in their current predicament. The applicants (Mulaudzi and wife), are at the risk of significant, irreversible harm if this order is not issued.
“Nevertheless, trustees are entitled to compensation for their work to date, provided it can be substantiated. The interests of the creditors are safeguarded, as they have already been identified.“
His acquittal came more than seven years after being charged of defrauding Old Mutual of R48m, which he denied.
During his seven year legal battle with the insurance giant, Mulaudzi told City Press that the experience left him bankrupt.
“I was stripped of all my belongings. I was sequestrated and my companies liquidated. Thousands of people I had employed lost their jobs as a result. I lost millions of rands.
When The Star contacted him on Thursday he said the court battle has had a devastating effect on his health but that of his family as well.
“No doubt, this case affected not only me, but my family as well. We went through a roller-coaster ride. It impacted everyone around me (my wife and kids) very badly. We all had to endure the pain and suffering, the embarrassment and humiliation.
“You can imagine what my kids went through at school, when they had to make do with their fellow pupils ridiculing them, let alone being told to leave school due to unpaid school fees and tuition,” he said.
Mulaudzi said no amount of money would make up for the effects this case had had on him and his family.
“I lost all my businesses and the empire I had built through blood and sweat. Everything came to ground zero. Employees lost jobs. In total, the loss has the quantum value of R5 billion.”
Attempts to get comment from the SIU and Cele’ office were not successful at the time of going to print.
The Star