Investment holding company MICROmega has appointed Dave King as its executive chairman with immediate effect.
King was last year cited as a defendant in a case between the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and five other defendants, in which it was found that assets belonging to a local company had been moved offshore to avoid paying tax. The case was part of a long-running dispute between King and SARS.
The judgment, delivered by judge Aubrey Ledwaba, in the North Gauteng High Court, found King had moved assets from a South African company, Ben Nevis, to an offshore entity, Metlika, to avoid paying the taxman.
Ledwaba wrote in the judgement that the “transfer of assets of Ben Nevis to Metlika, on King's instruction, on urgent basis was, in my view, to create a 'blind alley'. King knew SARS was investigating Ben Nevis for tax.”
The judgment ruled the transfer of Ben Nevis' assets to Metlika, in December 2000 and January 2001, should be set aside and these assets are deemed to belong to Ben Nevis.
Yesterday, MICROmega appointed King to its board as executive chairman as King no longer needed to devote as much time to the legal issue. Outgoing chairman Greg Morris says King told him last year that he would be available to “devote his attention to normal business activities” at MICROmega from this month.
Still invested
Morris says in an announcement to shareholders “it is well known that King was the founder of the MICROmega Group and that he still retains a beneficial interest in the company as a result of a significant minority shareholding via an offshore trust that is managed by HSBC”.
MICROmega is invested in financial services, support services, IT and automotive components sectors.
“It is also well known that King has been engaged in litigation with the state for almost 10 years,” Morris adds. “While there have been numerous attempts to settle this litigation, there is no real prospect of an imminent settlement that can meet the interests of all parties.”
However, while there is no settlement in sight, Morris says over the past few years, King has “required less time to devote to his legal matters”, and MICROmega has been able to use his services on a consultancy basis to assist with new business opportunities that King identified for the company.
After indicating his availability, King was asked to join the board as an executive chairman. Morris says the move will give him, as group CEO, more time to grow the existing business.
Duncan Carlisle will continue as group MD and will spend more time growing MICROmega's international businesses in South America and China.
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