Ismael Ayob, former lawyer to Nelson Mandela, will repay R700Â 000 to the Nelson Mandela Trust Fund, his attorney told the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday.
The payment is part of a settlement after the trust sued Ayob for taking funds from the trust without the knowledge of the trustees, advocates George Bizos and Wim Trengove said. Ayob was removed as trustee in 2005.
”The R700Â 000 would be paid back by May 31,” said Ayob’s attorney, Prince Daniels.
Daniels also extended an apology to Mandela on behalf of Ayob for defamatory statements made against him. He also said Ayob would pay Mandela’s legal fees.
Bizos said he was happy with the agreement, even though ”certain statements were defamatory against Mandela”.
Speaking of the relationship between Mandela and Ayob, Bizos said that it was sad considering the history the two men had shared, but added that Mandela would ”accept the apology”.
Earlier this week, Bizos and Trengove said they were taking Ayob to court over R2,2-million missing from the trust. They accused Ayob of buying cars and paying hundreds of thousands of rands to his own companies, according to a Sunday Times report.
Ayob was removed from the trust in 2005 after a court battle over the unauthorised sale of Mandela art works.
In an affidavit, Trengove claimed that Ayob made ”disbursements of more than R1,2-million and distribution of R700 000 from the trust’s bank account” without consulting the other trustees.
The money was reportedly part of R18-million raised by Mandela from top businessmen, including the Oppenheimer family, for the benefit of his children and grandchildren.
Companies that gave money to the trust included Absa, Nedcor, FirstRand, MTN, Sanlam, Barloworld, Investec and Venfin, who donated R1-million each. Businessmen Tokyo Sexwale and Mzi Khumalo also donated R1-million each.
Ayob also made claims that Mandela refused to pay taxes and approved the dodgy payments, the report said. — Sapa