Investec alleges extortion attempt by Kebble partner

A Business Day report notes Koppel is JCI’s largest shareholder, with 20% of its stock, and says the tussle with Investec sets the stage for a bitter battle between the bank and shareholders who feel Investec has unduly milked millions of rands from JCI through a ‘profit sharing’ deal it struck in exchange for R1.1bn it loaned to keep JCI afloat. Last month, Koppel successfully went to court to prevent shareholders voting on whether to retrospectively ratify the Investec loan package, which he said ‘fleeced’ JCI investors. Yesterday, says the report, Investec filed its papers in response to Koppel’s court bid, making claims that Koppel effectively tried to blackmail the bank into giving him a cut of their fee. Investec’s legal adviser, Avrom Krengel, said Koppel’s real motivation for his action ‘was to extort payment from Investec of 20% of the raising fee in return for which Koppel would shelve the application’ to oppose Investec’s fee. Full Business Day report