The judicial manager of troubled Insurance broking firm, Navistar Insurance Brokers, on Monday said he is close to raising $400,000 required to pay off creditors before the regulator can consider lifting its suspension to resume operations.
The company’s operating licence was suspended last March when its three executives were charged with fraud and criminal abuse of office for allegedly defrauding Air Zimbabwe of $8 million in 2009 through inflating aviation insurance premiums.
This crippled Navistar’s operations, resulting in the directors, whose case is still before the courts applying for the company to be placed under judicial management, which was granted in May last year.
However, as part of the conditions given by the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) to get its licence back, the judicial manager, Wesley Sibanda of Welsa International Chartered Accountants said Navistar would need to pay off all its creditors whom he said were owed close to $400,000 and to change the company’s management.
“So far we have raised $389,000 from debtors. We have also got some money locked up elsewhere and we are negotiating to have it unlocked,” he told The Source.
“We anticipate to finish paying creditors by end of March this year.”
Sibanda said after paying off creditors he would approach IPEC which still requires the company to be handed over “to people who are acceptable,” for negotiations, adding that he would find a way to address the requirement since shareholders were willing “to let go of the company” as long as they were paid for their holdings.
The judicial manager last year told creditors during a meeting at the High Court that the company had potential to be turned around once suspension was lifted and the firm was properly managed.
Last year, the company’s assets were valued at $1,5 million while creditors were owed $1,3 million.