Business rescue practitioners accuse NDPP of ‘infringing’ right to conduct business on Gupta-owned mine

The preservation order over Gupta-owned Optimum Coal Mine (OCM) sought by the national director of public prosecutions (NDPP) is, according to the business rescue practitioners (BRPs), infringing on the right to conduct their affairs without interference.

Greg Wickins SC, for the BRPs in charge of the mine, told the Pretoria high court on Thursday that the NDPP was not executing her duties in a lawful manner.

“If the NDPP wants to exercise the powers she has, she must do so lawfully. This [the sale of OCM] is the plan of the creditors and the company. They are not giving it away. This was the plan presented and adopted by creditors. It is not something done overnight,” Wickins said..

“To suggest now at the finish line that they will commit a crime does not hold water.”

NDPP Shamila Batohi has brought two applications under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca) to recover what the NPA says are proceeds of crime linked to a corrupt scheme for the acquisition of Optimum.

According to Wickins, for Optimum to operate, hundreds of thousands of rand were needed, and the buyer would have to re-establish the mine.

“They [the NPA] want to use Poca to stop the BRPs from executing their duties. They want to interfere with the BRPs personal rights, obligations and responsibilities,” Wickins said.

The Companies Act had provisions that dealt with the situation at Optimum, he said. “They are not in Poca, they are in the Companies Act.”