A little over R22m meant to help previously disadvantaged lawyers start up their own practices was “misappropriated”, allegedly by the fund’s now deceased CEO. It is understood that the money from the Attorneys Development Fund (ADF) was allegedly used to buy, among other items, a R6.6m house in the affluent Saxonwold area in Johannesburg. The transactions were allegedly made by the late ADF CEO Mackenzie Mukansi between January and September 2018. The board only picked this up in October. In stark contrast to this, the ADF, which focuses on the development of previously disadvantaged attorneys, had only paid out R1.7m between 2014 and 2018 to beneficiaries, according to its annual report seen by Business Day. Only 64 beneficiaries were assisted during that time. The scandal surrounding the late CEO became public last week when the Law Society of SA (LSSA) informed its members that it would push for the resignation of the ADF board at its annual general meeting which took place last...

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