Troubled property mogul Wendy Machanik has been ordered not to touch a string of accounts holding clients’ money, the Star newspaper reported on Thursday.
Machanik is facing a criminal probe involving millions of rands.
An interim order which was obtained in December was made final on Tuesday by the High Court in Johannesburg.
The order prohibits the former head of Wendy Machanik Properties (WMP) from operating “trust, savings accounts or other interest-bearing accounts”.
The listed accounts on the order include two Standard Bank and others held at Mercantile Bank, Regal Bank and Nedbank.
The order was granted after the Estate Agency Affairs (EAAB)took Machanik to court accusing her of dipping into trust accounts, embezzling more than R25-millions of clients’ deposits.
In January, Judge Jody Kollapen found in favour of the EAAB, which was seeking to stop Wendy Machanik and Wendy Machanik properties (WMP) from trading.
“Estate agents should enjoy a higher level of trust as they play a pivotal role … for citizens and the economy,” said Kollapen.
In terms of the Estate Agent Act, a fidelity fund certificate cannot be granted to an entity if it is prohibited from operating its trust account. This likewise applies to members of a close corporation. — Sapa