Supreme Court rules in favour of Remo The Supreme Court has given Remo Investment Brokers a new lease of life
The Supreme Court has given Remo Investment Brokers a new lease of life

The Supreme Court has given Remo Investment Brokers a new lease of life

The Supreme Court last Friday ruled in favour of Remo’s John Motsi and Rezana Ebrahim, setting aside the suspension of their licences by Securities Commission of Zimbabwe.

The court also reduced the period for which Remo Investment Brokers would be eligible to re-apply for its stockbroking licence to four years six months from five years.

The commission had earlier on cancelled the licences of Remo and its principal stockbroker for a period of five years after which they would reapply for registration. Ms Ebrahim had been advised that she was permanently disapproved as compliance officer while Mr Motsi was able to retain his dealers licence but was advised that he had to practice under a supervising senior broker for a year.

Remo Investment Brokers was appealing against the cancellation of its operating licence and in its arguments deposed at the Supreme Court, Remo was seeking to have the cancellation of its licence by the Securities Commission set aside on the grounds that the High Court erred in not finding that doing so was premature and in breach of Section 48 as read with Section 108 of the Securities Act.

Remo said the High Court also erred in not finding in all circumstances that it, together with Mahomed Mahmed, John Motsi and Rezani Ebrahim were not given an opportunity to be heard as required by law and by Section 111 of the Securities Act.

It also said it had not received a fair trial. However, the Supreme Court ruled that Remo’s period of cancellation be reduced to four years, six months, upheld the High Court decision on the principle stockbroker and that the appeal by Motsi and Ebrahim be allowed as the restrictions were set aside.

The judgment was delivered after it had been postponed due to corrections that had to be made about two weeks ago.

In June 2012, the SEC cancelled the licences of Interfin Securities and Remo following the suspension and investigations of the stockbroking firms. The two were found guilty of contravening Sections 24:25 of the Securities Act by carrying out activities not authorised in terms of the securities dealing firm licence after securing funding and on lending to third parties.

The court concurred with all the six breaches of the law that investigators Proctor & Associates had revealed, namely that appellants engaged in non-permissible activities, they engaged in illegal activities, used clients’ shares as security for loans, failed to keep a register of all securities, made a false declaration and failed to conduct business with high standards of propriety and probity.

Remo recently received a favourable judgment from the same court over the issue of shares it had ceded as security for a loan to Interfin Securities.

In the judgment delivered by Acting Judge of Appeal Mrs Justice Mavingira under case number SC68/14, Interfin was ordered to adhere to the February High Court judgment which gave the Deputy Sheriff powers to confiscate the share certificates and shares in three days to whoever possesses them as part of the widely publicised Interfin/Remo wrangle. — Wires.

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