Government has won a Court of Appeal case against businessman Bakang Seretse and Khulaco (Pty) Ltd, who have been ordered to repay P42 million received from the National Petroleum Fund.

The Court of Appeal overturned a High Court decision that had refused to grant Government summary judgment against Mr Seretse and Khulaco.

In a judgment delivered on July 31, 2026, the court entered summary judgment in favour of Government for P42 million and ordered the respondents to pay the costs of both the appeal and the summary judgment proceedings.

The appeal was heard by Court of Appeal President Justice Tebogo Tau and Justices Ian Kirby Lesetedi and Edwin Cameron.

The dispute arose from the transfer of P250 million from the National Petroleum Fund in 2017 for a project initially presented as involving the construction of petroleum storage facilities.

Khulaco received P42 million, described as a 20 per cent transactional services fee arising from the P250 million transaction.

Government argued that Mr Seretse, through his involvement in Basis Points Capital, Kgori Capital and Khulaco, owed fiduciary duties to Government and had failed to fully disclose his interests in the entities involved in the transaction.

The court found that the respondents had not presented a bona fide defence to Government’s detailed allegations.

It said Mr Seretse and Khulaco had failed to explain how the alleged agreement for the P42 million fee was concluded, who participated in the agreement, what services were rendered and how the fee was calculated.

The court also questioned the absence of written records supporting a transaction of such magnitude.

The judges rejected the respondents’ argument that Government’s counterclaim could not be determined separately from their main claim and should instead proceed to a full trial.

The court held that the High Court had erred in refusing to grant summary judgment and consequently set aside its decision.

Government’s P42 million counterclaim was therefore upheld, with costs. ENDS