South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe and his associated companies are facing a $195 million lawsuit in Tanzania, one of the largest cases to appear before the country's commercial court, according to Western media. The trial is set to resume on Monday.
Pula Group chairman, Charles Stith, a former US ambassador to Tanzania, reportedly claims the $195 million figure represents the potential financial loss incurred by Pula due to the competitive disadvantage created by Motsepe's alleged breach of confidentiality and non-compete agreements.
Pula maintains that a two-year non-compete agreement was in place, and that Motsepe's companies breached this agreement by engaging with and investing in Evolution Energy Minerals, an Australian firm operating near Pula's graphite project, within that timeframe.
However, Motsepe and his associated companies strongly deny any wrongdoing, asserting that Pula's claims lack merit.
"ARM was considering investing in minerals that it had not mined in the past when the Pula graphite project was presented to it for its consideration," a spokesperson for ARM told Western media. "ARM concluded a confidentiality agreement with Pula and subsequently decided not to invest in the project, and communicated the decision to Pula."