Photo: Mr Nic Georgiou<\/p>\n
South Africa<\/a><\/p>\n Claim that Klopper\u2019s application is aimed to keep investor information private questioned.<\/p>\n Ryk van Niekerk\u00a0\u00a0\/\u00a0\u00a017 October 2016\u00a000:01<\/p>\n The application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) by the business rescue practitioner of the failed Highveld Syndication (HS) companies, Hans Klopper, is not in the interest of historic HS investors. The application, as well as a similar application by Orthotouch itself, is only aimed to delay and frustrate investors who are bringing a class action against property tycoon Nic Georgiou.<\/p>\n Klopper is also less than truthful in his\u00a0answers to several Moneyweb questions regarding his application to the SCA<\/a>, as they do not mirror the arguments he set out under oath in his affidavit in support of the application.<\/p>\n These are the views of attorney Jacques Theron, head of the legal team acting for the management committee of the Highveld Syndication Action Group (HSAG), the group that wants to have the scheme of arrangement approved in 2014 set aside and to institute the class action to recover their investments from Orthotouch and Georgiou.<\/p>\n The HSAG is in the process of challenging the legality of the controversial scheme of arrangement and instituting a class action suit against Georgiou and Orthotouch. They will also be defending the applications of Orthotouch and Klopper.<\/p>\n Klopper said over the weekend that there seems to be \u201ca misconception\u201d that his role as the business rescue practitioner is to protect only the interests of investors in the various companies and more particularly those who support the so-called class action. \u201cI am of the view that this perception is incorrect as a business rescue practitioner\u2019s duty is to balance the interests of all relevant stakeholders, which include the company itself, employees, organised labour, creditors and shareholders.\u201d<\/p>\n Klopper added that \u201cwhilst we have been told that there are many investors who support the class action and who identify themselves with the Highveld Syndication Action Group, there are also thousands of investors who do not support the class action and whose interests I need to acknowledge as equally important. I therefore repeat that as my duty remains to balance all of these groups of interests it need not be specifically spelled out in an affidavit. l was in (any) event advised at the time that the issue of the protection of investors\u2019 information was already contained in Mr Kleovoulou\u2019s affidavit.\u201d<\/p>\n Klopper refers to an affidavit of Panagiotis Kleovoulou, a director of Orthotouch, which forms part of Orhtotouch\u2019s SCA application for leave to appeal.<\/p>\n Read Klopper\u2019s affidavit in support of the application to the SCA.<\/a><\/p>\n