State capture law firm rebrands, others jump ship

Johannesburg - A law firm implicated in assisting persons involved in state capture represents the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) in the court case against Optimum Coal Mine (OCM), which the RBCT accuses of being party to state capture.

During the State Capture commission of inquiry, it was heard that Hogan Lovells SA (HLSA), which changed its name to Lawtons Africa in 2019, allegedly did work for the SA Revenue Services that was connected to State Capture.

Lawtons Africa is representing the RBCT at the High Court in Durban, where OCM is seeking to have its coal export licence at the Richards Bay terminal reinstated. Among the reasons cited by the RBCT before the court is that OCM was acquired through proceeds of crime linked to the infamous Gupta family, known as the masterminds of state capture during the administration of former president Jacob Zuma.

In particular, the lawyer who is jointly in charge of the RBCT case is Veronica Vurgarellis, also known as Veronica Biebuyck. At the State Capture commission star witness, Angelo Agrizzi mentioned Brian Biebuyck as one of the attorneys who assisted Bosasa to hide money in trust funds.

Brian Biebuyck wed Veronica Biebuyck in Knysna at the end of March 2012 and are still "married", according to government records. Brian Biebuyck resigned as a director from HLSA in March 2017. Jeffrey Buckland, whose middle name is Lawton, is also representing RBCT in the OCM case.

In its reports, the commission recorded that “when Bosasa required cash, requests would be made to withdraw the funds”. As an example, former Boss CFO Andries van Tonder testified of an email that Agrizzi sent to Brian Biebuyck and himself, “where Agrizzi requested that R25m be transferred to Bosasa from the trust account”.

Revelations of using the firm's trust account for corrupt money laundering linked to state capture led to the eventual implosion of HLSA in 2019. On January 23, Hogan Lovells (HL), the global law firm, issued a statement expressing “regrets that the work done by the then HLSA for the revenue collector in SA was connected to state capture".

“In 2017, Hogan Lovells found its name connected to state capture as a result of work that former partners performed for SARS on an employment matter. We deeply regret that our work was associated with state capture”.

The statement continued: “We have changed our structure and our processes and given our experience, we are even more careful about the work we do for our clients and how our name may be used in that context. We deplore and oppose all aspects of corruption and we champion integrity in business and government.”

According to the statement, Lord Hain and Hogan Lovells had met “to exchange their views on the circumstances in which the firm’s former associate office handled the matter [and] during these constructive meetings, Lord Hain was clear that he stands by his views, including those of the Acting Director General of National Treasury, as regards the former associate office's local mandate at the time”.

“Hogan Lovells and Lord Hain agree that business in South Africa must fully acknowledge its role in state capture and the part business must play to ensure that this is never repeated. HL has committed its expertise and resources to raise awareness and to take action against the crippling effects of corruption and State Capture in South Africa and we will be supporting anti-corruption initiatives to achieve this outcome”.

A spokesperson for Hogan Lovells Ashley Musikavanhu said last Friday that in 2013, HL had entered into a cooperation agreement with Routledge Modise - an established South African domestic law firm. Under that agreement, Routledge Modise operated under the brand of Hogan Lovells and, accordingly, changed its name to HLSA.

Musikavanhu said Routledge Modise traded under that name until October 31, 2019, and “during this time, HLSA was not an integrated office of the global HL firm”.

It was a local firm, associated with the global brand and HL had no managerial control over HLSA, she said. Musikavanhu said that in October 2019, HL took a strategic decision to terminate the cooperation agreement with HLSA.

“Routledge Modise was a full-service firm and many of its practice areas did not align with the global strategy of HL and its ambition to develop its market share in Africa. With effect from November 1, 2019, HLSA changed its name to Lawtons Africa.”

Then HL established a new entity in SA known as Hogan Lovells Johannesburg Inc (“HLJ”), to operate as an integrated office of the global HL firm.

“HLJ is entirely independent of the firm now known as Lawtons Africa… Most of the directors of the erstwhile Routledge Modise (then operating as HLSA) remained with that firm and a limited number of directors left that firm to join the newly established Hogan Lovells Johannesburg Inc”.

Spokesperson for Lawtons Africa Winnie Masilela said that in 2019, Hogan Lovells “restructured in Johannesburg following a 5-year review of the relationship, it decided it wanted to retain a corporate, mining and banking team to service its clients and not the full suite of legal services”.

“So Hogan Lovells retained approximately six of the then 46 or so directors. The remaining directors all joined other law firms (such as Webber Wentzel, Baker McKenzie, Faskens, Werksmans, ENS Africa, Cliffe Dekker, Bowmans, Beech Inc, Eversheds, Andersens, Fluxmans, Cox Yeats and others) and a few established Lawtons Africa,” Masilela said.

She said Lawtons Africa was “not aware of Hogan Lovells’ involvement in state capture".

“A former director of Hogan Lovells, Mr Biebuyck who left Hogan Lovells in 2017, was mentioned by Mr Agrizzi in his statements a few times when Mr Agrizzi gave evidence in the Zondo Commission but as far as we are aware, he has not been charged with anything. As mentioned above, there has been no association with Hogan Lovells since 2019”.

She added: “All of us at Lawtons Africa are fully supportive of all efforts to root out and deal with corruption wherever it may be found. We also believe in the rule of law that requires the upholding of fair process. As a firm, we focus our professional skills and experience on the positive aspects of growing business and developing the Southern African economy to ensure a better future for all of us and the generations to come”.

Through our pro bono efforts, we actively provide free legal assistance to those who could not otherwise afford it.

"There is much work ahead of us to be done in South Africa to build a better future, and we are dedicated to this purpose", said Masilela.

The case between RBCT and OCM is underway at the high court in Durban. The RBCT terminated Optimum Coal Terminal’s export allocation at the end of January.

setumo.stone@inl.co.za