Lewis Liebenberg. (Tebogo Letshi/Netwerk24)
Tariomix, the company run by Louis Liebenberg, an ailing diamond dealer, is to be liquidated. This follows Friday's decision by Mahikeng High Court in the North West, making final a provisional liquidation order issued in February last year. This means that Tariomix is now subject to final liquidation.
Tariomix, which finances the buying and selling of diamonds, is better known by its trade name Forever Diamonds and Gold. The company was placed into provisional liquidation in February following an emergency application by two investors, Luan Botes en Gendre Viljoen, who claimed they had not received the promised dividends.
Mr. Liebenberg and Mr. Tariomix denied that the company failed to repay its debts or engaged in any wrongdoing, but its lawyers accused it of a bankrupt pyramid scheme.
In his judgment on Friday, Acting Judge Mark Morgan also granted intervention applications by 11 further intervention applicants.
Morgan said whether Tariomix is a pyramid scheme is irrelevant to the ruling. “I consider these alleged facts to be irrelevant to the determination of the material issues before me in this liquidation application.”
According to Netwerk24, Friday's ruling affects as many as 80,000 people and involves around R1 billion.
Meanwhile, News24 reported on Friday that Liebenberg is running for parliament as an independent candidate.
Liebenberg has previously donated millions of dollars to former president Jacob Zuma's legal costs.
Last year, a report by Tariomix's provisional liquidators found that Mr Liebenberg had instructed advocates and lawyers from Mr Zuma's legal team to pay R3.2 million. The money was then used to launch a private prosecution bid against News24 legal journalist Karin Maughan and senior state advocate Billy Downer.
Liebenberg's lawyer, Walter Niedinger, previously told News24 that his client had a “friendly relationship” with the former president when he visited Nkandla in April 2022 to understand the plight of Afrikaners. He said he had built a
Previous reporting by Jan Cronje.