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Flamboyant Durban couple Shauwn and Sbu Mpisane leave the Pinetown Magistrates Court flanked by bodyguards. Photo: Puri Devjee
Durban – Shauwn Mpisane and Trevor White, the man tasked with identifying and restraining her assets, don’t see eye to eye on many things including the value of her properties and other assets.
In papers filed in the Pietermaritzburg High Court – in which the businesswoman is seeking to overturn the forfeiture order granted against her – Mpisane says she has plenty of assets to cover any eventual confiscation order if she is found guilty and it was not necessary for White to seize nine luxury vehicles.
In her affidavit, she says her properties alone are valued at more than R68 million and the cars “many millions more”.
But White says this is not true and an independent professional appraiser, Craig Wood, has put this figure at just more than R50 million – not enough to satisfy the court order. He says the total value of the vehicles seized – now in a warehouse – is R15m.
With the other 51 vehicles under restraint the total value of vehicles is R20m.
Their properties, he says have a market value of R28.5m and a forced sale value of R21.7m, while other properties in a trust, which were offered as security, are valued at just less than R14m with a forced sale value of R10m.
However, R12m was owed in outstanding bonds and the South African Revenue Service had a R17.8m security bond over some of the properties in relation to an alleged debt. This left actual “equity” in the properties of about R17 million.
Although the Asset Forfeiture Unit has now conceded that the value of the restraint order should be R70m and not R140m, there is still a shortfall, White says in his affidavit.
He also defends himself against allegations made by Mpisane that he behaved unreasonably when went to her the La Lucia home to enforce the court order.
“He harassed me and treated me like a criminal,” she says.
White says his early arrival was because it had been intended that Mpisane appear in court that day. When he got there S’bu Mpisane was at the gate and said he had been expecting him. Their attorney, Themba Majoli, was also there.
“He invited us in.” The sheriff asked where Shauwn Mpisane was “and we were advised that she was attending to her child”.
“She then arrived.”
White said Shauwn Mpisane had offered retention money on certain construction contracts and assets owned by the Mkhimpi Family Trust as security for the restraint amount, but for various reasons that had not been accepted.
“I told them I would prepare an inventory and would remove the (luxury) vehicles and they should say which they wanted to retain for personal use.”
S’bu Mpisane “advised that he only used the bullet-proof BMW 550… the reason for this was because whenever he used other luxury vehicles members of the public hurled abuse at him, often in the presence of his minor son”.
“I agreed to leave it for him.
“He said (Shauwn) Mpisane required a 4×4 and I agreed to leave her the Hummer. But he said they would prefer the brand new Range Rover in exchange for two Lamborghinis. I agreed. He also asked that I not remove a Mercedes-Benz C Class which he had given his mother as a gift and I agreed.”
He denied removing the vehicles as a “show of power” and said “it would have been a lot easier for me” to have left them.
Mpisane, in her further affidavit filed this week, claimed the debt to Sars had been settled and it appeared White was acting as a “lackey” to the taxman.
The Mercury
