PIC paid R430m to Acapulco but director says she has not seen a cent

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One of Acapulco’s shareholders has allegedly not seen a single cent from the controversial R430m windfall the outfit received from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) for its stake in Lanseria International Airport, 10 months after the payment was made.To this end, Lebogang Magagane, an Acapulco director, through her lawyers, Mncedisi Ndlovu & Sedumedi Attorneys, dispatched a letter to the PIC’s lawyers on Monday, looking to verify if, indeed, the payment was received.“Our instructions are that payment of the arbitration award has not been received by Acapulco to date. In this regard, we kindly request your client’s assistance with the following: confirmation of whether payment was indeed made to Mabotja Attorneys [Acapulco’s lawyers] on October 15 2025 in respect of the arbitration award,” the letter reads. “If the payment was made, how much was paid and the details of the account in which the payment was made by the PIC? And to the extent possible, please provide us with the proof of payment.”The letter gives a deadline of Thursday for a response, which might open a further can of worms about the fate of the money, which the Special Investigating Unit has been asked to look into.Magagane did not respond to questions sent to her. The content of her lawyer’s letter suggests she was told by her fellow directors that no money was received from the PIC and she only learnt of it through media reports.Read: Wikipedia and double counting: ‘other shoddy work’ by auditor in PIC blunder“According to various media reports, on 15 October, payment was made by the PIC to Mabotja Attorneys, being the attorneys of record for Acapulco, who were instructed to assist in the recovery of the monies,” the letter reads.The PIC has publicly admitted to making the payment. When contacted for comment, Acapulco’s director, Kagiso Matjila, blew his top.“I have little confidence in your deontological constitution. You serve one man, and we all know you are a hired gun. This is a disgrace to the profession. You have cast aspersions on all and sundry with complete disregard for the truth. Don’t contact me ever again,” Matjila said.The combative Matjila also declined to assist the PwC in its investigation, which revealed several flaws in the PIC’s processes. Despite Matjila’s attempt to stonewall the PwC probe, the professional services firm, in its report handed to the PIC in May, highlighted several concerns over the process embarked on by the asset manager when it came into conflict with Acapulco over the valuation of the latter’s 25% stake in Lanseria.One of the first flaws was the PIC agreeing to terminate the mandate of accounting firm BDO, which found Acapulco’s stake to be worth about R330m, much less than the R600m Acapulco owed the PIC at that stage.Acapulco came to owe the PIC money after it, in 2013, lent the company the R300m it needed to buy a quarter of the airport — a loan Acapulco failed to pay in the agreed 10 years, attracting huge interest in the process.The second flaw was roping in the services of accounting firm Crowe, introduced to the PIC by Acapulco, to put a price on the stake. Crowe arrived at a valuation of R400m, which the PIC rejected.Despite the rejection of Crowe’s valuation, the PwC report found the PIC put forward a weak case when the dispute went into arbitration, in which the arbitrators awarded Acapulco R411m, essentially the difference between what it owed the PIC and the R1bn at which Crowe valued the stake.PwC found Crowe had double-counted Lanseria’s assets to arrive at the valuation. Crowe, which the PIC strangely did not call as a witness at the arbitration, also declined to co-operate with the PwC probe. Business Day