International acclaimed Nigerian singer Burna Boy’s failed concert in SA has taken an interesting turn after a businessman who invested millions of rands in it mounted a spirited legal battle in the Joburg high court to stop the festival organiser and business partner from moving the funds out of the country.
Gregory Wings, an American rapper, musician and entrepreneur, and famously known as BlameitonG, is also fighting to recoup millions of rands he allegedly paid to TicketPro, the company that sold tickets for the event, saying he unlawfully transferred the money into its account under duress.
In the court papers, which we have seen, Wings says he wants an interdict to stop his business partner and concert organiser, Sadote Nwachukwu, from moving the funds he paid to concert service providers out of the country. He is also seeking another order to force TicketPro to pay him back more than R2-million he claims he unlawfully transferred into the company’s account.
Relating the matter, Wings said TicketPro opened a fraud charge against Nwachukwu at the Sandton police station after he disappeared with over R8.1-million advance payment the entity made to his account.
Wings said he met with TicketPro’s Brandon Duffield on September 19 to discuss the losses they both incurred because of the failed concert, which was scheduled to be held at the FNB Stadium on September 23.
He said Duffield enquired whether Wings would be covering the losses resulting from the R8.1-million advance payment to Nwachukwu.
He said, in good faith, he proposed to pay TicketPro R4-million to assist it to recoup the funds, and expressed his intention to continue doing business with it.
He said on September 27, FNB froze his account, whereupon Duffield suggested to involve his friend, Ettienne Fourie, the head of the FNB bank fraud department, to assist in unfreezing it.
He said on October 1, he convened a meeting to settle matters and discuss a resolution for the failed concert and invited TicketPro to attend it but was arrested at the meeting venue and taken to the Alexandrapolice holding cells.
He said while in the police holding cells on October 3, he received a call from Duffield requesting payment of over R2-million for the company not to oppose his bail application.
Fearing that failure to pay the amount would lead to his bail being denied and further detention in a foreign country, he paid the money.
“At the time the payment was made there was no legal duty in terms of South African law to make the payment, and the payment to the defendant was made under duress. In the premise, the plaintiff is entitled to a refund of the amount paid of R2 031 059,” read the papers.
Wings has also applied for an interdict to stop Nwachukwu from claiming any damages and or cancellation settlement for the failed event.
This includes the $195 000 he paid to the FNB stadium management as deposit to host the event, and over R8.179-million to TicketPro that was transferred to Nwachukwu, and the funds that were paid to a sound company, Gearhouse South Africa.
He said upon learning of Nwachukwu’s continued demands for payments into his American bank account, his lawyers dispatched a letter to service providers to direct payments to their respective attorneys’ trust accounts until litigation proceedings were completed.
He said his office also wrote a letter requesting TicketPro not to pay Nwachukwu any funds, but this was without success.
Wings said Nwachukwu’s potential movement of funds from the country worsened the financial prejudice he faced. This, he said, would leave him and the creditors with minimal recourse.
Wings also wants an interdict to stop the legal wrangle between Nwachukwu and TicketPro, saying this poses severe financial prejudice to his interests.
“We are left with no alternative than to seek the court’s interdict to halt legal proceedings initiated by the second respondent for the first respondent’s
personal gain. Wherefore the applicant prays for an order as set out in the notice of motion,” read the papers.
