Councils skipped gov’t approval for Bluthorn deals

Running between 2018 and 2019, the unit trust scheme was touted as promising lucrative returns for the councils and Land Boards but ran into trouble when the dividends were not paid despite reaching maturity. Investigations by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA), a statutory manager, liquidators as well as a recent High Court ruling have found that Bluthorn Fund Managers was part of a family of related companies where funds were moved about “like brothers and sisters sitting at a family table and exchanging money between themselves”.

Justice Michael Leburu recently gave liquidator, Kopanang Thekiso the go-ahead to liquidate the group as a single entity, although it is presently unclear how much will be recoverable to investors as evidence of irregular loans to directors and cover-ups has also been revealed.