JSE-listed technology services firm EOH is still to recover billions of rands from its former executives it sued almost two years ago.
While the company does not believe it will recover the full R6.4 billion it is demanding from its past leadership team, EOH wants to use the proceeds to invest back into the business, with a portion of it going to shareholders.
So said Megan Pydigadu, EOH group chief finance director, yesterday after the company announced its interim results for the six months ended 31 January.
According to Pydigadu, the process to recoup the monies from the execs was “a bit slow”.
After it closed off dodgy legacy public sector contracts that had bedevilled the technology group over the years, in June 2022 EOH sued several of its former executives, including Asher Bohbot, founder and former CEO; the late John King, former CFO; Jehan Mackay, former head of public sector; and Ebrahim Laher, former head of EOH International, for a total of R6.4 billion in damages.
The company lodged a criminal case against the four former executives, in addition to the R6.4 billion claim it filed in court.
It is alleged it was under the previous management’s watch that EOH got entangled in corruption, especially with public sector tenders.
EOH group CEO Stephen van Coller, who, since his appointment, has been cleaning up the mess at the company, previously told ITWeb that since allegations of corruption and poor governance started, shareholders have lost about R24 billion.
Asked about the progress on the case, Pydigadu said: “It has been bit of a slow process. So, we’ve got summonses that we issued against them. We are now at a discovery place, where they are asking for more clarity. It’s more of information-sharing at this point in time.
“I don’t think we are going to necessarily get back R6 billion, but I think any money that we will recover, we will invest it back into the business and back to shareholders.”
Pydigadu also revealed the company is making steady progress in repaying government proceeds from dubious tenders that were signed off by the previous regime.
In 2021, EOH agreed to pay back over R40 million it earned unduly from Department of Defence contracts.
Said Pydigadu: “With the Department of Defence, we sorted out the issue almost two years ago, and we have been paying down, and the payments should be finished in October this year.”
Another dodgy tender was with the Department of Water and Sanitation. In November last year, EOH reached a R177 million settlement agreement with the Special Investigating Unit that the technology services firm will pay back for its dodgy tenders with the water department.
Pydigadu pointed out EOH has already started making payments on the illegal contract and the company expects to conclude paying it off in three years.
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