To each and every media outlet that was told the “truth”, but chose to report otherwise, beware: Cobus Kellermann is coming after you.

That was his message to Moneyweb, after news spread that he had instituted legal action against BizNews editor Alec Hogg [above] to claim damages for defamation:

Kellermann, who Hogg alleges is a ‘mastermind’ behind a massive fraudulent enterprise, is claiming R5 million for injury to “his name, reputation and standing”.

Papers were served to Hogg on Wednesday.

So what went down? Well, over a series of 20 articles, BizNews claimed that Kellermann, along with his business partner David Cosgrove, defrauded investors of billions of rands through what it called ‘the Belvedere Group’:

BizNews first carried the allegations on March 23 2015, when it ran a story under the headline: “Capetonian Kellermann accused as kingpin of R200bn Belvedere Ponzi”.

The article stated that “Cobus Kellermann, a Stellenbosch University graduate now in his late 30s who runs Cape-based money manager Clarus Capital, has been fingered as a mastermind behind a massive global Ponzi scheme run out of Mauritius”.

This and subsequent articles stated that Kellermann and Cosgrove were behind a multi-billion dollar fraud through a company called Belvedere Management, and others linked to it.

BizNews also carried a number of interviews with the editor of OffshoreAlert, David Marchant, who had been the first to make the allegations. In these articles Marchant called Kellermann a “fraudster”, Belvedere a “scam” and said that investors had been “fleeced”.

Since the allegations, however, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and the CFA Institute in the US have announced that they have both closed their investigations into the matter.

Guernsey reported it would be taking no action against either Kellermann or Cosgrove after a lengthy investigation as there was no wrongdoing. CFA told Moneyweb that “we have no evidence to pursue a case”.

Kellermann is now getting his own back. He claims that “BizNews’ characterisation of him as someone who had perpetrated fraud and illegally appropriated funds from investors is both wrongful and defamatory”:

As a result, he argues in court papers, his personal and professional reputation is unlikely to ever be recovered.

“I have spoken with Mr Hogg,” Kellermann told Moneyweb. “He now believes the truth (judging by his response to me). He was made aware of the truth early in 2015. He chose not to report on it then. He still hasn’t reported on it. So, the only way for the truth to come out is to level the playing field, which would be in a South African court, and not by him, or anybody else for that matter, hiding in different jurisdictions and writing on their blogs.”

He added that he is considering legal action against “each and every media outlet that was told the truth”, but chose to report otherwise.

Interesting to see how this one plays out, then.

[source:moneyweb]