Old Mutual not allowed to withhold worker’s pension

OLD Mutual Life Assurance yesterday failed in its court case to withhold N$3,2 million in pension from a former employee, Johan Deysel, for investment advice he gave a client that cost her more than N$7 million.

In 2003, Deysel advised pensioner Helene Naude to cancel some of her investments with Old Mutual in favour of investing with fly-by-night company Great Triangle Investments – the company which at around the same time gradually swindled the Offshore Development Company of N$100 million. Handing down judgement yesterday, Judge Gerhard Maritz said he had considered the Pension Fund Act as the overarching law governing pension funds as well as the employment contract Deysel held with his former employer, and could not grant in Old Mutual’s favour based on the arguments advanced by its legal counsel Raymond Heathcote acting on instruction from Dirk Conradie.Old Mutual Life Assurance approached the High Court on Friday to urgently prevent its staff pension fund from transferring Deysel’s pension money to a fund of his choice to compensate Naude should she sue the company for her losses within thirty days of such an order being granted.Maritz said it had not be shown that at the time of Deysel stopped being a member of the Old Mutual Staff Pension Fund that he owed the company close to N$8 million.Further Maritz said while he noted that Old Mutual had been issued a letter of demand from Naude, and that it was reasonable to assume that Old Mutual was at risk of facing further action, this was not the case at the time that Deysel left Old Mutual’s employ.The Judge said he accepted that it had taken time to carry out a forensic audit to determine Deysel’s role in the botched investment, and thus heard the case as a semi-urgent one.Old Mutual Life Assurance was further ordered to pay Deysel’s legal costs.He was represented in the matter by Dave Smuts, acting on instruction from At Slabber of Weder, Kruger and Hartmann.Deysel resigned from Old Mutual in September, only days before he was to face a disciplinary hearing on fraud and other misconduct charges, for conducting business outside the scope of his Old Mutual duties and having received money for it.Deysel acknowledged in an affidavit put before the court that he advised Naude to invest with Great Triangle Investments, but said he believed the company was credible, and the investment, safe.Naude said she believed at the time that Great Triangle was endorsed by Old Mutual, as correspondence detailing the investment were made on Old Mutual stationery and contained Deysel’s signature in his capacity as a financial advisor for Old Mutual.Handing down judgement yesterday, Judge Gerhard Maritz said he had considered the Pension Fund Act as the overarching law governing pension funds as well as the employment contract Deysel held with his former employer, and could not grant in Old Mutual’s favour based on the arguments advanced by its legal counsel Raymond Heathcote acting on instruction from Dirk Conradie.Old Mutual Life Assurance approached the High Court on Friday to urgently prevent its staff pension fund from transferring Deysel’s pension money to a fund of his choice to compensate Naude should she sue the company for her losses within thirty days of such an order being granted.Maritz said it had not be shown that at the time of Deysel stopped being a member of the Old Mutual Staff Pension Fund that he owed the company close to N$8 million.Further Maritz said while he noted that Old Mutual had been issued a letter of demand from Naude, and that it was reasonable to assume that Old Mutual was at risk of facing further action, this was not the case at the time that Deysel left Old Mutual’s employ.The Judge said he accepted that it had taken time to carry out a forensic audit to determine Deysel’s role in the botched investment, and thus heard the case as a semi-urgent one.Old Mutual Life Assurance was further ordered to pay Deysel’s legal costs.He was represented in the matter by Dave Smuts, acting on instruction from At Slabber of Weder, Kruger and Hartmann.Deysel resigned from Old Mutual in September, only days before he was to face a disciplinary hearing on fraud and other misconduct charges, for conducting business outside the scope of his Old Mutual duties and having received money for it.Deysel acknowledged in an affidavit put before the court that he advised Naude to invest with Great Triangle Investments, but said he believed the company was credible, and the investment, safe.Naude said she believed at the time that Great Triangle was endorsed by Old Mutual, as correspondence detailing the investment were made on Old Mutual stationery and contained Deysel’s signature in his capacity as a financial advisor for Old Mutual.