CMB, NBFIRA buy more time in their P400m feud

Mpho Mokwape | Friday May 11, 2018 14:55

The parties this week through a consent order agreed on the postponement of the matter so they can keep their house in order and file necessary documents.

The appearance at the Court of Appeal comes after the regulatory authority filed urgent papers seeking the review of High Court’s dismissal of its bid to place CMB under statutory management. Appearing before Judge President Ian Kirby, the parties after being locked in numerous meetings agreed for the appeal to be heard on July 12 and 15, 2018 and parties given timelines to have filed their papers. Kirby said the appeal was postponed and the Registrar will call the parties to settle the security costs. “The case shall be heard on scheduled days and parties are advised to file their papers accordingly to avoid any delays. Parties are also to settle security costs before the commencement of the appeal,” he said. Kirby also said all other applications and issues raised in regard to the judgement shall be addressed in one consolidated appeal. Meanwhile, NBFIRA through this court battle is aiming to secure the establishment of a precedent in the matter, which revolves around P422 million fought over between CMB and the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF).

This appeal follows dismissal of the regulator’s case on April 24 by Justice Omphemetse Motumise, saying NBFIRA had failed to prove the criteria required to impose statutory management on a regulated entity.

NBFIRA’s bone of contention and the need to place CMB under statutory management comes from BPOPF and the CMB, an asset manager. The two entities are involved in a bitter dispute over the funds, which the pension fund handed over between 2014 and 2017 for private equity placement. Pursuing the return of the funds, the BPOPF lost a legal challenge against CMB on urgency last December, before appealing to NBFIRA, which attempted to place CMB under statutory management, but also failed.

Advisors close to the NBFIRA said the regulator’s next move would be guided by the need to set the precedent, which would guide future attempts to place regulated entities under statutory management.

Very few entities have challenged NBFIRA’s statutory management and CMB is believed to be the first to do so successfully.