The other five former executives earlier on Monday alleged in a statement that the bank account used in the name of the fund was opened by De Bruyn and that she "conceded that she had no authority to represent the fund".
"Sonjas statements in the media, including that she was 'misled and taken advantage of', are false. Her loaded statement that 'white privileged or powerful men' abused the BEE black economic empowerment structure for our own benefit is not only false, but also defamatory and designed to distract from her role in proposing and then implementing an NTT BEE front, despite certain of the executives' best efforts to prevent that outcome," the statement, which was signed by Ord, Saki Missaikos, Steven Nathan, Grant Bodley and Bruce "Doc" Watson, said.
She said the funds have never been used and remain available for inspection "at any time to demonstrate they have been held responsibly".
"We believe that the way in which the executives have put this across to the press is another demonstration of how they obfuscate and manipulate facts to deflect from their own dishonesty and wrongdoing as clearly no funds have been misappropriated."
"The executives' narrative defies logic and is preposterous. It is patently false that a vendor loan of this nature could have been secret when it was made in full view of all parties involved in the deal and with all properly executed documentation." 2025 NewsCentral Media