Pending the outcome of investigations into claims of staff receiving kickbacks for preferential treatment, Absa, Nedbank, First National Bank and Investec have all stopped doing business with Auction Alliance. The latest development comes after news broke earlier in the week, that Auction Alliance CEO, Rael Levitt, had relinquished his post.

The National Consumer Commission and the Estate Agency Affairs Board have already confirmed that they are investigating Auction Alliance.

Unsurprisingly, the big banks are now also rather interested to know what’s been going on.

The claims stem from reports of collusion between Levitt and the firm, as well as the fact that the firm had paid kickbacks to attorneys, liquidators, and bank staff to ensure business went their way.

Auction Alliance’s board has also set up its own internal probe into the claims.

Levitt hit back, rubbishing the claims made against him:

It is a personal attack on me. Because I started the business at the age of 20, I am the face of the brand – any attack on me is an attack on Auction Alliance. It has been well orchestrated and well-funded.

Yesterday, Nedbank forensic investigators interrogated a contracted employee after he was supposedly implicated in the receipt of payments from Auction Alliance.

Nedbank’s head of risk, Philip Wessels:

During the course of the day, our interrogations have progressed to such a stage that we have informed Auction Alliance that we will not refer any new cases to them until we have concluded our investigation.

Absa acknowledged that they were also probing staff in their asset recovery division.

Louis von Zeuner, Absa’s deputy group CEO:

We stand for a particular ethic and no-one is going to stand in the way of us living up to exactly that.

So it would appear that Auction Alliance’s immediate future is looking Raelly bad at the moment.

Did you see what I did there?

Okay, I’ll Levitt alone.

[Sources: IOL, MoneyWeb]