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SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux was ordered to pay more than R37 million to Stellenbosch University after an arbitration hearing on the unauthorized allocation of funds to the institution’s Maties rugby club. The award questions his appointment to a new position at World Rugby.
Alasdair Sholto-Douglas SC, who acted as arbitrator in the dispute, ordered Roux to pay Stellenbosch University R37,116,402 related to the unauthorized channeling of funds to the Maties rugby club and associated activities, according to an arbitration award dated March 23. December 2020. In addition, Sholto-Douglas ordered Johannes Christiaan de Beer to pay the university the sum of R1,904,511. Both amounts will accrue interest until fully amortized. Roux and De Beer were also ordered to pay the university’s legal fees.
“Roux’s conduct in allocating the university’s funds to the four cost centers constituted a breach of her employment contract, resulting in the university suffering damages in the amount alleged in the details of the lawsuit, namely, R35,312,004, ”Sholto-Douglas said in its award ruling. “I also find that he violated his employment contract by incurring expenses of R1,804,398 on behalf of the university in connection with the Western Province Rugby Institute when he was not authorized to do so, and in circumstances where the university had not done so, In fact, it incurred such an obligation. The total sum of the damages is therefore R37,116,402 ”.
Stellenbosch University first discovered that Roux had allocated the funds during a KPMG investigation into perceived irregularities at the student fee office in November 2012. The investigation led to the conclusion that the centers’ opening balances cost had been manipulated using a program within the university. computerized accounting system.
Using the program to allocate funds to the cost centers in question left no digital audit trail, although Sholto-Douglas accepted Roux’s submission that an audit trail existed in the form of written notes contained in a box that subsequently disappeared. . Roux was one of two people who had access to the program.
Burden of proof
The university issued a subpoena in Western Cape Superior Court on June 19, 2015 claiming damages from Roux and De Beer, both accountants, alleging that they had breached their employment contracts regarding misallocation of funds. However, on May 15, 2019, the parties agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration.
Roux was first hired by the university on May 23, 1994, initially acting as a financial administrative officer. However, he quickly rose through the ranks to become CFO from 2002 to 2007, followed by Senior Director of Finance and Asset Management from 2007 to 2010 when he dropped out of college. Roux also held the roles of treasurer and president of the Maties rugby club during his tenure, with De Beer assuming the presidency after Roux left.
During the arbitration hearing, evidence was presented to Sholto-Douglas for almost three weeks followed by three days of legal arguments. Sholto-Douglas noted that Roux responded to the allegations against him with “naked denials” while carefully avoiding revealing his defense until the end of the process.
“The way that Roux defended her case indicated a reluctance on her part to reveal her case,” Sholto-Douglas said in her ruling, noting that Roux’s strategy was not to present any version to counter the university’s accusations. This placed the burden of proof on the university to prolong the arbitration and prevented Roux from attempting to prove a case it had not presented, Sholto-Douglas said.
While a statement posted on the Stellenbosch University website said there is an “automatic right to appeal the final arbitration award,” the result is likely to call into question Roux’s appointment by World Rugby. The Afrikaans newspaper Rapport said in April that Roux would be leaving his position at SA Rugby at the end of 2020 to take up a position at the world governing body for rugby.
SA Rugby said in a statement posted on its website that it has referred the matter to its legal advisers and will not comment further until the outcome of any potential appeal is known.
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