MAGDA WIERZYCKA: Ayo, Ayo, it’s off to court we go
As the truth about the PIC investment emerges, Iqbal Survé's empty promises don’t scare me
As much as I have been aware of the fact that Ayo Technologies was an unsound investment for the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to have made, and have written about it as well as raising the issue with the JSE, the “criminal charges” laid against me caught me by surprise. The charges were laid by Iqbal Survé’s brother-in-law, Khalid Abdulla, the CEO of African Equity Empowerment Investments (AEEI), the majority investor in Ayo and the company that sold a 29.9% stake in the company to the PIC. As much as I wanted to wash my hands of any association with AEEI and their dealings, I thought the reaction to my communication of an offer to purchase their shares, made on behalf of an offshore buyer and at a market-related valuation at that time, was extreme to say the least. Little did I know that by communicating the offer, I was actually poking the bear at a time when the bear did not wish to be poked. Now the truth is starting to emerge. With the suspension of the PIC executives in...
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