Wendy Machanik Property Holdings, one of SA’s leading estate agencies, had its trust accounts placed under curatorship following alleged financial irregularities in the management of the accounts.

Up to R25 million may be involved, according to the findings of a risk management report provided to the South Gauteng High Court by the Estate Agency Affairs Board.

The court appointed a curator to control and administer the accounts of the company, which belongs to property doyenne Wendy Machanik.

The court also issued an interim interdict preventing Ms Machanik from operating in any way any of the trust, savings or other interest-bearing accounts of the company.

Ms Machanik said she could not comment on the matter until the court process was concluded.

The court’s decision comes after the estate agency board received a disclosure, through its whistle-blowing hotline, relating to alleged irregularities concerning the business affairs of the company and numerous instances of alleged non-compliance with the provisions of the Estate Agency Affairs Act.

Estate agency board chairman Thami Bolani said on Thursday that after it received reports from a whistle-blower last year, it instituted an investigation into the company.

Mr Bolani said the whistle-blower raised eight issues requiring investigation, three of which related to the application for curatorship.

These were irregular and unethical business practices; instances where the company insisted clients deposit funds into its trust account rather than an attorney’s trust account; and unauthorised use of trust fund money.

The board appointed Pasco Risk Management to investigate the claims and produce a preliminary report, which could not provide a definitive opinion on the charges.

But the report showed that Wendy Machanik Property Holdings had allegedly misappropriated about R25.2 million from March 2007 to the end of February last year.

The board appointed inspectors in September and their forensic investigation showed that Wendy Machanik Property Holdings allegedly transferred money from a trust account to a business account to keep the company afloat.

According to the South Gauteng High Court, the transfers were reflected as Cross/Klein transactions, which were fictitious names.

The Pasco report also showed that in the 116 Cross/Klein transactions, Wendy Machanik Property Holdings had removed R15 209 million and had paid back about R10 million.

The court said the inescapable inference was that this modus operandi was systemic, and said the apprehension that it may continue had not been allayed by the company.