SARU Boss Ordered To Pay Back R 37 000 000

 

SA Rugby Union CEO Jurie Roux has been ordered to repay R 37 million, which an arbitrator found has been misappropriated from the coffers of Stellenbosch University during his tenure at the institution's finance department according.

A Statement issued by the University of Stelenbosch reads: 

"​In its dispute against Mr JW Roux and Mr JC de Beer, which was referred to arbitration by agreement between the parties, Stellenbosch University (SU) received the final arbitration award from the arbitrator, Advocate Alasdair Sholto-Douglas SC, on 23 December 2020.

The arbitration proceedings flowed from summons issued by SU in the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa on 19 June 2015. In this summons, the University claimed the payment of damages from Jurie Wynand Roux as the first defendant, and Johannes Christiaan de Beer as the second defendant on grounds that they had breached their employment contracts with the University. A second claim against De Beer related to a claim that he had undertaken to pay a sum of money to the University. On 15 May 2019, the parties agreed to refer their disputes for determination by arbitration.

The University was successful in its claims. The main points of the arbitration award are the following:

  • Roux is to pay the University the sum of R37 116 402 plus interest;
  • De Beer is to pay the University the sum of R1 904 511 plus interest;
  • Roux and De Beer also are ordered to pay the University's legal costs.

There is an automatic right to appeal the final arbitration award, and the parties may also apply for possible clerical errors to be corrected.

In terms of the provisions of the arbitration agreement, the entire record of the arbitration proceedings is confidential unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, but the existence of the arbitration and the final arbitration award is not confidential."

A statement issued by SARU reads as follow:

The Executive Council of SA Rugby has noted the reports of the arbitration involving Jurie Roux and his former employer, Stellenbosch University.

We have referred the matter to our legal advisers for their advice on governance matters, as we have throughout this process.

We further note that the process allows for the parties to lodge an appeal, and we will make no further comment until the outcome of any such appeal is known.