Habib bidders ‘failed to file funding proof’
Court papers reveal registrar’s Vardospan requests
Hamza Farooqui, who brought a failed court bid to compel the Reserve Bank to make a decision on his buyout of Habib Overseas Bank, had not provided audited proof of the source of the funds he would use to acquire and fund the bank, court papers show. Farooqui instituted the urgent court application last Monday on behalf of Vardospan, five days after the Bank’s office of the registrar of banks asked him to provide audited confirmation that he had the means to buy the bank for R327m. Farooqui said he instituted the application because of pressure from the bank’s seller, Pitcairns Finance SA, to reach a resolution on the deal. Farooqui is a 100% shareholder of Pearl Capital, which jointly launched a bid for Habib with Gupta associate Salim Essa’s Cinq Holdings through Vardospan. Vardospan applied for permission to buy the Habib shares in September 2016. Correspondence between Vardospan and the Bank, attached to bank registrar Kuben Naidoo’s court papers, showed his office asked on thre...
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