The controversial executive chairperson of Fidentia, J Arthur W Brown, studied at the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) but did not graduate, university authorities said on Friday.
Earlier, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, which incorporates the former UPE, had said it had no record of Brown ever studying there.
”JAW Brown, we discovered, in fact studied at the former UPE. When we were approached for confirmation whether he studied at the university, it was difficult to find him on the system because it was so many years ago and we were searching for Arthur Brown, not JAW Brown,” said NMMU spokesperson Ros Baatjies.
”There are no records of him obtaining a qualification here,” she said.
Baatjies said Brown registered for a BCom degree sometime in the 1990s and studied for two years, but did not graduate.
He owed the university an outstanding balance for fees, which was written off in 2000.
Fidentia is under curatorship. Moneyweb has reported that close to R2-billion in cash poured into the Cape Town-based company headed by Brown, but very little of that can now be traced.
Brown has denied any wrongdoing. — Sapa