Misappropriation of funds at Fidentia exposed
A High Court application by the Financial Services Board (FSB) has exposed the misappropriation of hundreds of millions of client money by Cape-based asset management company Fidentia, which until now had appeared as something of a rising star in the section.
A Business Day report notes that this may prove to be one of the most damaging investment scandals since the failure of Masterbond in 1992, given that Fidentia was looking after R1.6bn of clients money. The application follows a probe of Fidentia by a team mandated by the FSB, and it paints a bleak picture of the way the company carried out business, including references to misrepresentation to clients, misappropriation of client funds, misrepresenting investments, inadequate corporate governance, and material conflicts of interest. Full Business Day report