Jeff Koorbanally (left), the forensic investigator who is assisting the Surtie family in their claim against the PIC and finance minister, with former Judge AB Mahomed.
Image: Supplied
In the latest development regarding the ongoing legal proceedings by the Surtie family to recover a massive claim stemming from offshore inheritance worth multi-billions belonging to the late Abdul Razak Tayob Surtie, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, in his official capacity, was now added as a party to the proceedings by the court.
The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, also granted leave to the parties to file further court papers in light of the minister now added to the matter.
The lawsuit brought by the Surtie family against the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and the government concerns the payment of R1,35 trillion, which was thought to have been held by the PIC.
Jeff Koorbanally, a financial and forensic expert instructed by the family to assist them in instituting the claim, explained the way forward in the saga which had dragged on for decades.
He said that the plaintiff, Rehana Surtie, the executrix of the estate of the late Abdul Surtie, would serve the defendants, including the finance minister, with the notice of intent to amend the particulars of claim. This would be done within 10 days.
The plaintiffs, which include Koorbanally, would serve and file their amended particulars of claim together with a Rule 41A Notice, which gives the defendants 15 court days to file their defence.
Koorbanally further explained that in the new claim, there are no significant changes; the only additions or changes are what was required from the finance minister as per the regulations.
In terms of the claimed amount of R1,35 trillion being disputed by the defendants, Koorbanally stated that he had asked the court to use its discretion to separate the issues and to refer the quantum to be determined through a forensic audit process.
“As a forensic accountant with over 40 years of experience, I continue to maintain that the R1,35 trillion amount is more plausible,” Koorbanally said.
He added that this amount could even increase if one considered interest.
But, according to him, they are willing to abandon interest and will also consider reducing the claim if the finance minister was willing to negotiate in good faith.
Koorbanally said this was because they are committed to reaching an amicable out-of-court settlement.
The Surtie family states that the late Surtie was the beneficiary of offshore inheritance assets that were repatriated in 1984 after the process was initiated by the Lesotho Branch of Barclays Bank Limited.
The Surtie family has been embroiled in protracted legal proceedings in a bid to recover the money from the PIC.
The family alleges that offshore inheritance assets valued at more than $36 billion in 1984 grew to R1.35 trillion through government bond investments, which were held in a restricted account by the PIC.
The funds originated from diamond mining claims and share portfolios managed by Barclays Bank International.
Koorbanally has established from the Absa Group that assets relating to the share certificate belonging to the deceased, of $36 billion, were transferred into the deceased’s account in 1984.
The funds, it is said, were deposited into a special restricted account in the 1980s. Under the apartheid government’s regulations and laws, such payment was prohibited. The PIC subsequently invested the funds in South African government bonds, which were underwritten by the South African Reserve Bank, the claimants said.