Frangos hits out at Corpcapital report blackout
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Government report will not be made public
Chief Reporter
AS GOVERNMENT said yesterday it would fight attempts to make public a report into allegations of poor corporate governance at Corpcapital, the company`s arch-nemesis, Nic Frangos, yesterday launched an attack on the probe that led to the report.
Frangos was the one who asked the trade and industry department to probe allegations of poor governance and illegality at the financial services company. But government has not yet released the findings of the report that was completed in May, prompting Corpcapital to launch a bid to force the report into the public domain to clear its name a move the state is opposing.
The probe was expected to cover whether Corpcapital fraudulently inflated the values of its Bermuda-based online gambling business Cytech, which resulted in hefty bonuses for the directors. The probe also looked at whether CEO Jeff Liebesman deceived investors, and whether there was a wholesale failure of corporate governance.
Frangos launched a biting attack on the government probe, which was performed by advocate John Myburgh and accounting professor Keith Prinsloo.
Yesterday`s public statement is the first by Frangos since the probe was commissioned last year. It also comes at a time when there is a perception that he will come off badly in this report, while Corpcapital could be largely vindicated.
Myburgh`s findings could have farreaching implications for the lawsuits likely to follow between the warring parties and for the treatment of corporate whistle-blowers .
Frangos said: `Some of the events that have taken place during the course of the (government) investigation have stunned me.`
He claimed the inspectors released to Corpcapital details of certain confidential documents of his that they had undertaken not to reveal to the other party.
`When Myburgh was challenged by my attorneys on what we considered a fundamental breach of process, he admitted it,` Frangos claimed.
As part of the process, the inspectors also gave both Corpcapital and Frangos the right to rebut certain bits of the evidence of the other party, including expert opinions.
But Frangos claimed Myburgh did not give him access to certain expert opinions put up by Corpcapital, including that provided by the dean of Oxford University`s business school, Rory Knight.
Frangos also lambasted the inspectors for probing his reasons for calling for the investigation. `This approach was outside their mandate and irrelevant to the main issues,` he said.
Myburgh would not comment on Frangos` allegations yesterday, saying he felt it would be inappropriate to comment. But Corpcapital director Neil Lazarus hit back at Frangos.
Lazarus said Frangos tried to undermine the findings of an earlier report prepared by independent investigator Nigel Payne on the allegations `and now he seeks to discredit the inspectors` report in advance of its publication.`
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