The son of powerful and politically connected tycoon Roy Moodley has allegedly swindled his business partners out of their R51-million to fund his gambling addiction.
Kesavan Moodley also allegedly hired his mistresses and took company loans worth millions of rands that he never paid back.
These shocking tidbits are contained in responding affidavits filed in the Durban High Court by his business partners, who are opposing his application for a 50% stake in two of the three companies from which they kicked him out.
Moodley dragged the trio to court, claiming 50% stakes in two of the three companies in which he had been kicked out as a shareholder.
In the affidavit, which Sunday World has seen, Moodley’s business partner, Ashveer Dwarikapersadh, accuses him of -using underhanded ways to steal from his business partners.
Dwarikapersadh said Moodley was a gambling addict who once blew R1-million of company funds at a casino in one week.
“I can confirm that during the course of August and November 2022, he gambled over R3-million at the Sibaya and Sun Coast casinos.”
Not only that, charged Dwarikapersadh, Moodley once forced them to hire his side chick, who got paid for doing nothing while he gagged everyone in the company from telling his wife.
Dwarikapersadh also alleged that Moodley withdrew a total of R51 -million from one of their companies, Strawberry Worx.
Explaining the matter, Dwarikapersadh said that in 2010, Moodley approached Dwarikapersadh’s companies, Maribo Media and Strawberry Media, which are run by his friend Ridwaan Mohamed, and made them lofty promises.
Moodley allegedly told the duo that he would deliver 1 500 advertising sites on Prasa land if it partnered with him for an upcoming Prasa tender.
With that, Strawberry Worx was born, and everyone agreed that Moodley would control 50% since he was about to deliver a major business opportunity.
The 1 500 sites from Prasa, however, did not materialise.
“However, what transpired was a huge legal battle with Prasa for the 1 500 sites that lasted over a decade and left Strawberry Worx with an astronomical legal bill that diminished a substantial portion of its profits.”
Dwarikapersadh further stated that Moodley went on a long scheme of fleecing his associates after former Prasa boss Popo Molefe told the Zondo commission of inquiry that the family tried to capture him in a bid to score tenders at the state owned entity.
He alleged that Moodley withdrew large amounts of money to fund his gambling habit and made unreasonable demands for lavish holidays and overseas trips.
He allegedly used Strawberry Worx staff to run his personal errands.
After taking strain from him, the two business partners reached a verbal agreement to, among others, force Moodley to resign from Strawberry Worx as a director.
Contacted for comment, Moodley dismissed the allegations contained in court papers as “lies” to which he was not going to respond.
His father, who also spoke to us, also concurred with him, saying Moodley’s estranged business partners were lying.
“Ashveer (Dwarikapersadh) is a fraudster, and he is not telling the truth. Greed put him in all this mess,” Moodley snr said.
