Durban - A legal spat between MF leader Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi and her stepdaughter has been settled after a draft consent order was obtained.
Thakur-Rajbansi had lodged an application in the Durban High Court asking that Vimlesh Rajbansi - the daughter of her late husband and party founder Amichand Rajbansi - hand over documents on several of his business interests.
She said they were necessary for her as executrix of his estate to determine whether the shares, in respect of five companies, belonged to Rajbansi’s estate and if so, to have them transferred into trusts.
After the draft consent order was presented to the court on Thursday, in which Vimlesh agreed to furnish the documents, Judge Trevor Gorven commented: “I’m glad sense has prevailed.”
The feuding family have been in and out of court since Rajbansi’s death in December 2011. Last year his daughters went to court to remove Thakur Rajbansi as executrix.
Durban High Court Judge Nompumelelo Radebe reserved judgment in that matter.
Rajbansi had left four wills but because he had not nominated an executor, the master of the high court had appointed Thakur-Rajbansi, as the surviving spouse.
Thakur-Rajbansi was given permission to administer the estate on condition she told the children of interim payments or distribution of assets.
In the application against Vimlesh and the auditors of the companies - chartered accountants Ramathe, Desai, Bhagat & Jeena - the MF leader asked that a securities register, a register of directors and nominee documents be handed to her.
Vimlesh is listed as a director of four of the companies but Thakur-Rajbansi said her late husband was the “actual shareholder” and owned the share capital in each of them.
She said he had however allowed his shareholding in Footwin Investments, Phoenix North Properties, Snap Shot Investments and Gahana Enterprise to be held in Vimlesh’s name as his nominee.
“(Amichand Rajbansi) directed that the shares in Phoenix North Properties be transferred to a trust to be created and that the income beneficiary of that trust would be me,” said Thakur-Rajbansi in her affidavit.
She said Rajbansi had directed that all cash assets, properties and shares in three other companies, as well as Manog Investment, be transferred to the A Rajbansi Family Trust (a separate trust) of which she was the trustee.
Manog Investment had a different nominee who did not have the requested documents, she said, adding she believed they were in the possession of the chartered accountants.
“In my capacity as the executrix of the estate of the deceased I am obliged to give effect to the terms of the last will and testament of the deceased,” she said.
Thakur-Rajbansi said Vimlesh refused to transfer the shareholding of the four companies into the respective trusts and that her attorney had written to the auditors about getting copies of the necessary documents.
In response, the auditors had said Vimlesh had “specifically requested” that the attorney not be allowed to inspect any of the companies’ records which the auditors held, she said.
According to the auditor’s e-mail to Thakur-Rajbansi’s attorney, Anesh Maharaj, Vimlesh said the shares in the companies did not belong to her father and should never be estate assets.
The companies are listed as financial intermediation and real estate businesses.
In terms of the consent order, Vimlesh has to pay Thakur-Rajbansi’s legal costs for the application.
Daily News