Shortly after Susan Aird, a partner at Kritzinger & Co, attorneys of Cape Town, was called upon to answer a charge of unprofessional conduct she was appointed the Law Society’s new Director of Professional Affairs!

Former ABSA director Bob Aldworth is due to appear in court for his allegedly improper involvement in deals that resulted in losses to the banking group of which he was a director. Now it emerges that, in a case which has received far less publicity, well-known director of Cape Investment Bank, Stephen Phelps, did some unfortunate milion-rand deals with that bank while on its board.

Between May 1990 and November 1992, Valerie Durr purchased preference shares and secured debentures in Supreme Holdings Ltd and Supreme Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd. She was advised to do so by regional manager of ABSA's brokerage division in Cape Town, Myles Stuart. This was in spite of the fact that there was no prospectus or financial statements available for Supreme. In November 1992 both Supreme companies went into liquidation under notorious circumstances. To what extent, the Cape Supreme Court had to decide, was Stuart responsible for Durr's loss.

The implication of a recent judgement in the Cape Supreme Court (see next story) seems to be that anyone calling him or herself themselvesa "qualified financial brokers" doesn't have to demonstrate any particular skill or knowledge of financial matters.

Brian Zolty, the son-in-law of Simon and Miriam Silke, happened to see over the shoulder of a clerk at Old Mutual a list of policies in the old folks name that neither he nor his wife knew anything about. The beneficiary was an Old Mutual broker they had never heard of. Zolty's enquiries at OM met with a response that was patently innacurate and unsatisfactory, but which managers at OM appear determined to stick to.

“You will come off second best in any conflict which you get into with Sonnenbergs,” David Nurek, chairman of the Cape's mega law firm told independent collections attorney, Beverley Datnow. Things didn't quite work out the way Nurek expected.

The charming folk behind the plan to build on and sell off bits of Table Mountain.