The Sunday News
Thulani Ndlovu Business Correspondent
GWERU-BASED gold and antimony mining company, Aquirium Trading has been placed under provisional liquidation by the High Court after failing to repay a debt of more than $2,5 million. The application for provisional liquidation was brought to the Bulawayo High Court by its major shareholder Tamira Overseas SA (Tamira) a company incorporated in Belize, a country on the eastern coast of Central America.
The ruling, last week, by High Court Judge Justice Martin Makonese appointed Mr Knowledge Hofisi of Aurifin Capita as the provisional liquidator.
Said Justice Makonese: “Any interested party may appear before the court sitting at Bulawayo on 11 December, 2014 to show cause why a final order should not be made placing Aquirium in liquidation. This order shall be published once in the Government Gazette and once in the Herald newspaper.”
Mr Virendrakumar Ranchold, director of Tamira deposed a founding affidavit alleging that his company advanced loans and investment capital amounting to $2,5 million since 2012.
He added that Aquirium was unable to meet its obligations to other creditors that amount to more than $349 000.
“It is submitted that Aquirium is unable to pay its debt due to mismanagement and fraud as well as shareholder disputes that cannot be readily resolved within Aquirium company.
“Aquirium assets are not readily realisable. Respondent has no funds with which to meet its contingent and prospective liabilities. For all intents and purposes Aquirium is commercially insolvent. In this latter respect, there is an additional amount of $691 319 advanced for the benefit of Aquirium to retire expensive Kingdom Bank debt but structured as a sale of shares.”
“There is an unresolved dispute and capital gains tax issue in relation to this transaction as between the shareholders,” said Mr Ranchold.
Aquirium has been operating at a loss in excess of $1,7 million and it has failed to repay its loans amounting to more than $2,5 million according to Mr Ranchold.
He revealed that to date Capital Gains Tax on the shares that Tamira bought has not been paid in terms of the Capital Gains Tax Act, potentially prejudicing Zimra and his company in respect of their shareholding.
“It is apparent that the respondent is badly mismanaged and it has flouted various provisions of the laws of Zimbabwe . . . these disputes have hindered completion of certain statutory requirement arising from Exchange Control Act, Zimbabwe Investments Authority and the country’s empowerment laws,” added Mr Ranchold.
He further alleged that under the circumstances judicial management could not possibly resuscitate Aquirium enterprise or resolve the disputes prevalent among shareholders and the only possible way for Tamira to recover its assets was by the winding up of Aquirium.
The director of Aquirium, Mr Taleb Mohamad, in his notice of opposition denied that the mining entity was insolvent but said there were existing disputes between shareholders and Tamira.
