Court Issues warrant Of Arrest Against Vantage Directors Before 9 May 2024

Buganda Road Chief Magistrates’ Court has issued a warrant of arrest against the
directors of a South African moneylending firm, Vantage Mezzanine Fund 11
Partnership, after failing to honour criminal summons.

According to the warrant of arrest signed by the acting Principal Magistrate Grade
One Winnie Jatiko Nankya, the accused who include Warren Van Der Merwe,
Mokgome Mogoba, and Alexander Derek, are expected to appear in court on May 9,
this year, without fail.

This arrest warrant has been issued after the Vantage bosses failed to honour criminal
summons issued on March 22 this year over allegations that they are transacting
business in Uganda without a license.

The warrant which requires any police officer to arrest the said directors on sight,
was also copied to Interpol (International Police).

“You are hereby directed to arrest the said Merwe, Mogoba and Derek and produce
them before me at Buganda Road Court in Kampala on or before May 9, 2024,
without fail,” she ordered yesterday.

According to the charge sheet, Merwe is the Vantage company banker and
managing partner; Mogoba is a chartered accountant, investment banker and an
associate partner at Vantage; while Derek is an attorney at Vantage.
Nankya issued the summons to the trio following an application filed by lawyer Wyckliffe
Atuhairwe under private prosecution.

The magistrate allowed Atuhairwe to commence private criminal prosecution against
the South African moneylenders and sanctioned charges against the accused by
signing the formal charge sheet attached to Atuhairwe’s application.Spyreports has learnt.

“Having found that the court had the authority to issue the summons and that service
was effectively done upon the accused persons, the court hereby disregards the
accused counsel’s objections for lack of merit and hereby issues an arrest warrant
against the accused persons,” the magistrate stated.

The accused is represented bylawyer Robert Kirunda.

The accused face charges of transacting in money lending business in Uganda
without a valid money lending license, contrary to section 84 (1) (a) of the Tier 4
Microfinance Institutions and Money Lenders Act,2O16.
If found guilty, the South African firm and its bosses will be disqualified from
engaging in money lending business in Uganda.

The accused are also battling charges of carrying on and operating a business in
Uganda under a business name, which does not consist of the true surnames of all
partners who are individuals and the corporate names of all partners which are
corporations without registration, contrary to section 4 (1) and (2) of the Partnerships
Act No. 2 of 2010.

The accused further face two counts of disobedience of statutory duty, contrary to
section 116 of the Penal Code Act, 13 counts of obtaining execution of a security
(money) by false pretence, contrary to section 306 of the same Act, and conspiracy
to commit a misdemeanor, contrary to section 391 of the same Act.

The offence of disobedience of statutory duty attracts a maximum sentence of two
years imprisonment upon conviction, while obtaining execution of a security by false
pretence and conspiracy to commit a misdemeanour elicit a five-year jail term.
Allegations

It is alleged that the accused, trading as Vantage, between December 11, 2014 to
date, in Kampala, Uganda, transacted and continue to transact a money lending
business.

Vantage purportedly advanced a loan referred to as a “$10m Mezzanine Term
Facility Agreement” to Simba Properties Investment Company Limited, which credit
facility is accruing interest and recoverable to date, without a money lending license.

The private prosecutor purports that the South African moneylenders disobeyed
statutory duty by refusing to register and/or incorporate a name “Vantage Mezzanine
Fund II Partnership” under which they operate a money lending business in Uganda
illegally.

It is also purported that the accused, on December 31, 2014, in Kampala, obtained
execution of a security, namely; mortgage deeds for several properties of
businessman Patrick Bitature to secure $10m (about sh36.6b), under the
representation that the said Vantage was legally mandated to transact a money
lending business in Uganda, well knowing that the said representation was in fact,
false.

In 2022, Justice Musa Ssekaana of the Civil Division of the High Court declared that
Vantage is a non-existent legal entity and has no capacity to sue anybody in
Uganda.

Ssekaana ruled that failure by Vantage to register as a partnership under section 4
of the Partnerships Act, 2010, constitutes a criminal offence under section 4(2) of the
same Act.

The entity had rushed to the High Court to seek a judicial review over the decision by
the Uganda Registration’s Services Bureau (URSB) to refuse the transfer of shares
to it from four of businessman Patrick Bitature’s companies.

 The companies are;Simba Properties Investment Co. Limited, Simba Telecom Limited, and Linda
Properties Limited and Elgon Terrace Hotel Limited.
URSB’s lawyers had submitted that Vantage is a non-existent legal entity and hence
incapable of instituting legal proceedings.