SHAREHOLDERS in Amaanat Investment Holdings are calling for the release of a forensic report which they say was commissioned using investor funds years ago, but has yet to see the light of day. They say that shareholders still have not seen the report or been given clarity on its findings, despite allegations of financial misconduct at the company.
Known as the Abacus Report, the document has become the centre of renewed tensions between some shareholders and the company’s leadership.
Aysha Vahed, one of the shareholders, said investors believed the report contained important information which was needed to assess historic financial decisions and losses allegedly suffered by the company.
“As shareholders, we demand to see the Abacus report. The report was paid for with shareholders’ money,” she said.“ The board has not released the Abacus report to shareholders. Their excuse is that they haven’t seen it yet. We find that difficult to believe and believe there may be a lack of transparency,” she said.
Another shareholder, Mahmood Oumar, said investors had been waiting too long for answers. He questioned why shareholders had not been granted access to the report, which he said was commissioned after allegations emerged that the company had suffered major financial losses running into billions of rand.
Amaanat Investment Holdings is a Shariah-compliant property investment company which owns properties including shopping centres and residential buildings across South Africa. It was originally intended to assist widows, orphans and other vulnerable groups through investment income. The company is not listed on the JSE.
It previously faced allegations of financial mismanagement, including findings reported in 2022 that raised concerns over irregular payments spanning several years. Those implicated denied wrongdoing and the matter was referred for further investigation and legal processes.
However, the present dispute centres on what some shareholders describe as a lack of transparency regarding the outcome of subsequent investigations and the status of the forensic findings.
“We are demanding that the Abacus Report be made available to all shareholders,” another investor said. “It was paid for with shareholder funds, and we believe shareholders have a right to see it.”
The Independent on Saturday has not independently verified the contents of the Abacus Report, which shareholders say was commissioned following earlier investigations into the company’s finances. It also remains unclear whether the Abacus Report is separate from, or linked to, earlier forensic investigations referenced by the company in 2022.
Four years ago, a report by Durban forensic accountant Eckhard Volker, leaked to IOL, raised allegations of financial misconduct at AIH and asked whether shareholders’ money was still in good hands. Volker confirmed that a case had been opened against former AIH CEO Hussun Abdool Khalek “HAK” Omar (68) at Westville Police station, and that his son, Mohamed Hussun Omar, was also a person of interest in the investigation. Allegations of fraud and theft amounting to R160 million over a 10-year period were being probed.
AIH, which is represented by MS Omar of MS Omar and Associates, claimed that HAK had used the proceeds of his allegedly illegal activity to buy luxury homes and expensive cars. Further investigation revealed that MS Omar is the cousin of HAK Omar and was once also his legal counsel.
HAK Omar is also the director of Kreston KZN, the company which audited AIH. BCA Chartered Accountants, based in Durban, was also implicated in the investigation, as was Coral Asset Management, which managed the daily affairs of AIH’s investment properties. AIH, Coral Asset Management and Kreston were all based at the same address in Westville.
Responding to shareholders, Hassim Randeree, the current chairman of the Board of Directors, said the report could not yet be shared publicly because it formed part of an ongoing investigative process involving the Hawks. “The board of directors have been made aware (of the report’s contents). In other words, a summary has been shared with them. But it’s not released to the board of directors. It’s not a public document at the moment. The Hawks have to create charges from the information they received,” he said.
Randeree rejected suggestions that the board was concealing information, saying the company had complied with regulatory requirements and continued engaging shareholders through quarterly reports and annual meetings. He said the current board had stabilised the company after a difficult financial period and believed the business was recovering. According to Randeree, dividends had gradually increased since 2023 and the majority of shareholders continued supporting the board.
This was despite hundreds of shareholders banding together in WhatsApp groups to air their grievances over the matter. According to some shareholders, concerns now extend beyond the report itself and include broader questions around governance, accountability and communication with investors. Some also want access to information relating to the sale and acquisition of properties owned by the company.
Several long-term investors, many of whom say they are pensioners or rely on dividend income, told the Independent on Saturday they were struggling financially following reduced returns. Shareholder Zubeda Essop said many investors entered the scheme through trusted community networks, expecting a stable long-term income stream. She said the investment was particularly appealing because it was marketed as Shariah compliant, meaning it complies with Islamic financial principles.
“It’s all the same story. Everyone thought that the returns were good. They were recommended by family and friends, thinking that if they put money away now, when they’re older or retired they’ll have an income. And now most of them have nothing,” she said.
Other investors have raised concerns about the value being offered to shareholders wishing to exit the investment. While some investors say they paid up to R1 400 per share, the current buy-back offer is about R585 per share. “It’s less than half of what I put in. I can’t survive on that,” one shareholder said.
Another investor in her 80s said she feared she would not live long enough to recover the value of her investment. “I put everything I had into Amaanat, thinking it would take care of me. Now I’m broke and I don’t have money to pay my rent,” said one emotional shareholder. Another said she had cashed out her savings to invest in Amaanat and now relied on financial assistance from relatives to survive, while another said she feared she would not be able to pay her children’s school fees.
Randeree said that when the current board took over, some shareholders had wanted the company placed under business rescue, following a series of financial difficulties. “Only 65% of the rental income was collected by the agents that were handling the collection. When we got involved, we dismissed the agents, we took it in-house, and immediately started collecting 95% of the rental, which created a cash flow that enabled us to pay dividends, nominal dividends,” he said.
In his report, Volker said based on his investigation, he concluded that expenses of not less than R160m were debited against Stated Capital over 10 years. “A significant portion of these funds were utilised by Mr HAK Omar for his personal benefit.
“Mr HAK Omar was personally conflicted in his duties, where he personally affected incompatible functions, critically unminding the concepts of internal control, all for his personal benefit,” he said. Findings in the report suggest HAK Omar spent R3m on property refurbishments, R3m on a flat in Umhlanga, cars worth R4m and R16m on a house in Camps Bay.
Volker said his findings, to some extent, were subject to change should new information arise. “If any such information exists, we reserve the right to amend our report and its interpretation accordingly,” he said.
HAK Omar’s lawyer, Fred van der Westhuyzen of BDP attorneys in Tyger Valley, said at the time the amounts referred to in the report represented fees for services provided by Kreston KZN and its subsidiaries to AIH.
“The report conveniently loses sight of the fact that Kreston KZN rendered services and effectively managed an investment group which grew into a R4.5bn fund over more than a 10-year period.
“In effect, the forensic report is a guise to a fee dispute that in essence adversely effects all the shareholders and their interests. The allegations now levied against our client is an attempt by certain individuals who plan to strip the assets of AIH for their own benefit. These individuals choose to divert the attention away from their actions to hide their true intentions,” Van der Westhuyzen said. He said AIH still owed HAK Omar R13.7m for services rendered.
Naran Maharaj, the owner of BCA Chartered Accountants, told IOL he did not want to comment on the matter.
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