Late Brett Kebble’s JCI fined R1m for unaudited accounts

JCI, the investment and mining firm linked to deceased controversial mining magnate Brett Kebble, has been fined R1m by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) for failing to prepare its financial statements in time for a settlement to end a long-running legal battle.

The Companies Act requires a listed company to prepare public audited financial statements within six months of its financial year-end. 

The settlement brings to an end a decades-long saga in which JCI shareholders have been trying to force the firm to produce audited financial statements, so they can ascertain if there is any value in the company.

JCI was delisted from the JSE in 2005 after failing to produce audited financial statements for 2004 and 2005, as it became involved in controversies linked to the late Kebble.

After a shareholder complaint, the CIPC ordered JCI to submit audited financial statements for 2013 to 2018. JCI appealed against the order at the Companies Tribunal. It then admitted it was unable to produce such statements.

Financial Mail previously reported that there was a strong suspicion that JCI is, and has been at least since 2004, hopelessly insolvent — which is the main factor in delaying the release of audited financial statements, rather than technicalities that have been cited by the board.

The R1m fine forms part of a settlement between JCI and the CIPC, in which JCI admits it cannot produce audited statements. The settlement was made an order of the court in the past week. 

The agreement also requires that the JCI shareholders hold a meeting to adopt a special resolution for the voluntary winding up of the investment firm. 

With Marc Hasenfuss

childk@businesslive.co.za