/ 28 February 2017

Cosmo Fruit stink-up plot thickens

Ioannis Ntinos
Ioannis Ntinos

A state-funding agency is suing a small businesswoman over non-payment of a R3-million government loan. This is despite clear indications that the agency’s officials failed to spot that a letter confirming the existence of a cargo of fruit had allegedly been forged.

The suspicious letter has emerged as part of the paper trail in the tale of a Katlehong businesswoman, Mendiswa Mzamane, who is being sued for non-payment of the loan she received from the Small Enterprise Funding Agency (Sefa).

The agency, which falls under the Department of Small Business Development, dished out more than R1-billion in funding to boost small enterprises in the last financial year.

Mzamane’s loan, to fund her foray into the fruit export trade, came with strict conditions that included physical validation of the cargo before the money was to be released.

She had sourced fruit through the now liquidated Cosmo Fruit, a company owned by businessman Ioannis Ntinos. The Mail & Guardian has previously reported how Ntinos short-changed her by sending just one of 15 containers of Valencia oranges to her client in the United Arab Emirates, leaving her out of pocket and saddled with a civil claim from the government agency.

Now it has been established that Sefa officials were seemingly satisfied with a document sent directly to them by Ntinos, which appears to be a forgery. Ntinos has failed to respond to repeated questions about the letter.

Dated October 7 2015, the letter, purportedly provided by a global third-party inspection company, states that it had checked the 300 pallets of Class 1 fruit destined for the United Arab Emirates.

On the basis of this letter, Sefa officials emailed Mzamane’s bank, FNB, to release the funds from an escrow account where the funds had been held until this – the final condition of the loan – was met.

Officials missed suspicious details on the letter bearing a stamp that can best be described as gobbledygook. It lists the company’s registration number as “Res ng;0101a111nror”. This bears no resemblance to any traditional company registration number issued in South Africa.

It reads: “The letter services to inform you that we have executed the Sitco inspection on behalf of Cosmo Fruit for the 300 pallets of oranges … And we confirm that the quality of the fruit is good to be exported to the Middle East market since all specifications are in line with the requirements to do the report.”

It was only once the entire deal had collapsed and Mzamane found herself out of pocket that she started digging into matters herself.

She contacted inspection company Sitco two months later when the company confirmed they had given Ntinos a letter, but not the one he gave her and Sefa on October 7 2015.

And, according to the company’s general manager, Nashlin Stephen, the company’s letter only stated that it would be conducting the inspection and not that it had done so, as Ntinos’ version stated (see below).

“There was no other letter issued and signed by myself,” said Stephen.

Asked about the two letters and the striking discrepancies, Stephen said: “I think it’s quite clear from the original that the client converted this document, altered it and sent it through as Sitco’s letter. This is self-explanatory from comparing both the documents and the company registration numbers.”

Stephen said the company was seeking legal advice on the issue.

Sefa maintains that it received instructions from Mzamane to release the funds. The agency says it had no business with Ntinos, that his company instead had a contract with Mzamane’s company, Razoscan.

The M&G provided Sefa with a copy of the questionable letter for comment. In an emailed response, Sefa said: “Kindly be informed that Sefa relied on the instructions from the shareholder of Razoscan which included the letter of Sitco, as Sefa did not source the letter. It was the responsibility of the shareholder of Razoscan to determine whether the letter … was fake and/or fraudulent.”

Sefa had no contract or working relationship with Ntinos or his company, raising questions as to why his letter was sent to it.

The agency failed to explain why its officials were in direct contact with Ntinos, including on October 7 2015 – the day he provided the letter and just 24 hours before the instruction to release the money went through.

Sefa merely “noted” the emails between Ntinos and its investment officer, Papae Malatji.

Emails seen by the M&G show how Ntinos, becoming increasingly impatient about delays in finalising the deal, fired off an email to Malatji on October 7.

“Papae send what you need on email now please … we can not wait … exactly what you need.”

Later that day Ntinos sent another email to Malatji simply saying, “attached what you wanted”, and a line saying “please send the money with immediate transfer”.

Mzamane was only copied on this mail but in terms of the agreement she was required to formally request the release of the money and did so via email. Once she sent this email to Sefa, the agency authorised FNB to pay.

The M&G did ask Sefa whether its officials did not have a duty to verify the authenticity of the inspection document but it maintains this was Mzamane’s duty.

Meanwhile Ntinos reacted strongly when he discovered Mzamane was investigating the circumstances around the issuing of the controversial letter.

When Ntinos found out that she had contacted Sitco, he fired off an email to her on December 3 2015 saying: “You call one of my suppliers once more I will finish you. And stupid Mendi when I call you answer idiot … I will sort you out little shit … answer your fucking phone you bitch”.

People who know Ntinos say this message to Mzamane was mild in comparison with what they had become used to at his hands.

Ntinos’ Cosmo Fruit has been liquidated. The M&G previously reported on concerns of some creditors of major financial transactions in the run-up to the liquidation of Cosmo Fruit as well as thereafter. Liquidators confirmed that creditors are weighing up the cost of appointing forensic experts to assist with an audit of substantial financial transactions ahead of the liquidation of Cosmo Fruit.


The fake Sitco letter, as alledgedly altered by Cosmo Fruit


The real letter that Sitco sent