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Old Mutual said fired chief executive officer Mr Peter Moyo issued the South African insurer with  summons seeking damages totalling R250 million.

The company will defend “any claim vigorously,” Johannesburg-based Old Mutual said in an emailed response to questions yesterday. The amount is in addition to the R36 million Mr Moyo received for “doing the job” and R4 million for his six months notice period, it said. “Old Mutual believes that it was correct to dismiss Mr Moyo.”

Mr Moyo said his primary intention is to get his job back. “If they don’t give me my job back, I am entitled to claim in accordance with my contract,” he said by phone after Old Mutual confirmed the claim.

He has also chosen to make a claim for what he views as a violation of the law by Old Mutual, Mr Moyo said, declining to comment on the amount because the court filings may not have been made public yet.

The spat between the 174-year-old insurer and Mr Moyo spilled into the open in May when he was suspended for an alleged conflict of interest. The company fired him three weeks later, a decision Mr Moyo successfully challenged in the High Court in Johannesburg. Old Mutual has prevented the 56-year-old from returning to work on grounds it is appealing the ruling to temporarily reinstate him. — Bloomberg.