JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) says the business group owned by the Gupta family is opposing its application to freeze the R1.75-billion mine rehabilitation funds for two of its coal mines.
Outa last week succeeded in obtaining an interim order from the Pretoria High Court which directs the Bank of Baroda to continue to hold the trust funds of the Optimum Mine Rehabilitation Trust and the Koornfontein Mine Rehabilitation Trust in interest-bearing accounts in the trusts' names.
“Our application is being opposed by the trustees, Pushpaveni Govender, Optimum Coal Mine and Koornfontein Mines. While Outa succeeded in preserving the trusts' funds, the merits of the matter are still to be fully ventilated in court on December 7 and 8.
“Our legal team has prepared a strong case to keep the rehab funds frozen. It is important that actions of this nature be seen through to the end so as to ensure that the rehabilitation funds land up in the right hands and that they are used for their sole purpose of restoring the damaged environment,” says Outa COO Ben Theron.