Pretoria High Court: NTC Global Trade Final Liquidation Pretoria Proceeds

• NTC Global Trade's attempt to avoid final liquidation in the Pretoria High Court was dismissed last week.
• The company's sole director, Edwin Thabo Letopa, sought to rescind a provisional winding-up order, arguing NTC was denied a hearing opportunity.
• Complaints against NTC began in 2023 from investors unable to withdraw funds, alleging fraud and insolvency.
• A PwC analysis found little evidence that R484 million raised from investors was used for crypto-arbitrage, with funds instead flowing to related parties.
• The FSCA had previously issued a warning about NTC Global Trade and Arbitrawallet for potentially offering unregistered financial services.

The court's decision marks a significant development in the NTC Global Trade final liquidation Pretoria case, underscoring judicial scrutiny of attempts to avoid insolvency proceedings amidst serious allegations of financial misconduct.

A South African court has dismissed an eleventh-hour attempt by NTC Global Trade to prevent its final liquidation, marking a critical development in the ongoing South Africa crypto insolvency case. Last week, the Pretoria High Court rejected the application filed by the crypto firm and its sole director, Edwin Thabo Letopa, who sought to have a provisional winding-up order reconsidered or rescinded. This provisional order, issued on September 10, 2025, had placed the company in provisional liquidation following a period in business rescue.

NTC Global Trade and Mr. Letopa contended that the company had previously opposed the liquidation proceedings but was not informed of the hearing where the provisional order was granted, thereby denying them an opportunity to present their case. This application was lodged just days before the scheduled final liquidation hearing. However, Judge Anthony Millar ultimately dismissed NTC's application with costs, paving the way for the NTC Global Trade final liquidation Pretoria proceedings to advance.

The legal challenges against NTC Global Trade trace back to 2023 when a group of 21 investors initiated proceedings to liquidate the company. These investors alleged fraud, insolvency, and potential dissipation of funds after they were unable to withdraw their investments. While their initial application was dismissed due to a lack of urgency, the investors launched fresh proceedings in February 2024, intensifying pressure on the firm.

Further financial complications arose when FNB and the South African Reserve Bank froze R57.5 million held in NTC's primary business account. Although another account containing R58 million remained unfrozen, NTC argued that the combined funds significantly exceeded the claims against it, thus refuting allegations of insolvency. Mr. Letopa maintained that the freezing of these accounts, rather than a genuine lack of funds, was the primary reason NTC could not honor investor claims.

NTC Global Trade presented itself as an investment company that raised capital through interest-bearing debentures, purportedly for cryptocurrency arbitrage activities—buying crypto at lower prices and selling it in markets with higher valuations. However, a cash-flow analysis conducted by PwC cast doubt on this claim, finding little evidence that the approximately R484 million raised from investors was actually deployed in the stated crypto-arbitrage operations. Instead, substantial amounts were found to have flowed to related parties and other accounts.

The PwC analysis also suggested that funds from newer investors might have been used, at least partially, to make payments to earlier investors, a characteristic often associated with Ponzi schemes. Amidst these concerns, NTC Global Trade entered business rescue voluntarily in March 2024, following renewed liquidation proceedings by investors over unpaid investments. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) had previously issued an FSCA NTC Global Trade warning in May 2024, cautioning the public about NTC and its associated entity, Arbitrawallet, due to suspicions that they were offering unregistered financial services.

The case is further complicated by the tragic assassination of attorney Bouwer van Niekerk in his Saxonwold office, almost a year prior to the final liquidation hearing. Van Niekerk had represented Kurt Knoop, NTC's business rescue practitioner, who resigned hours after the attorney's death, citing death threats. Initially, Van Niekerk had collaborated with Edwin Thabo Letopa, assisting in establishing NTC's business rescue process and proposing Knoop as the practitioner.

This cooperation also extended to opposing an application by the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) for a preservation order covering 35 accounts with a combined R176 million. The NDPP had alleged that NTC operated as a Ponzi scheme, using new client funds to pay existing investors. However, the Pretoria High Court dismissed this application, citing insufficient evidence to establish the alleged Ponzi scheme or NTC's insolvency at that time. Subsequent court documents, however, revealed a significant breakdown in the relationship between Van Niekerk and Letopa, with the latter reportedly resisting demands to provide NTC's financial records and grant access to its crypto wallets.

This case establishes a significant precedent in South African insolvency law for crypto firms, illustrating the court's approach to attempts to avoid final liquidation amidst allegations of fraud and uncooperative directors. Lawyers should note the procedural challenges and evidentiary requirements highlighted, especially regarding rescinding provisional winding-up orders, while compliance officers should be aware of the FSCA's proactive warnings and the potential for account freezes by financial institutions in such schemes.

Source: Original reporting via Moneyweb