MEDIA RELEASE
DATE: 23 JANUARY 2018
The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission has issued final findings against SAB&T BEE Services (Pty) Ltd and Ms Shameema Ismail for conduct that is improper, contrary to ethical conduct expected from a verification professional/agent, the standards applicable to verification and the objectives of the B-BBEE Act, and may amount to misrepresentation or attempt to misrepresent the B-BBEE status of the measured entity, for issuing two B-BBEE Certificates for two periods (2014-2015 and 2015-2016) but using the same set of financial statements. SAB&T BEE Services (Pty) Ltd and Ms Shameema Ismail have issued a public apology on their website for this conduct and have agreed to refund all entities verified in 2014 and 2015 using the same approach, amongst other things.
This follows a complaint by a certain Mr Keith Levenstein against SAB&T BEE Services (Pty) Ltd and Ms Shameema Ismail, a verification professional within SAB&T BEE Services (Pty) Ltd. After due process, the B-BBEE Commission made findings against SAB&T BEE Services (Pty) Ltd and Ms Shameema Ismail and recommended remedial steps including, issuing of a public apology, commissioning an independent audit of all certificates issued for 2014 to 2016 and refunding all entities in which the same improper practice was used in verifying these entities, failing which SAB&T BEE Services (Pty) Ltd and Ms Shameema Ismail will be referred for criminal prosecution and to South African National Accreditation Systems (SANAS) and the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) for their de-registration.
According to the B-BBEE Commission, “a verification process is critical to properly reflect the extent and level of transformation of each entity, and manipulation of financial information that ought to be used to conduct this process will not be tolerated. Using the same financial information for two consecutive years is tantamount to misrepresentation and undermines the objectives of the B-BBEE Act. The fact that this conduct was done to avoid the coming into effect of the amended codes, indicates a clear disregard of the B-BBEE Act by the verification agency and professional”
The full copy of the findings can be found on https://bbbeecommission.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Publication-of-Findings-and-Recommendations-Keith-Levenstein-and-SABT-BEE-Services-23-January-2018-Final.pdf
Issued on behalf of the B-BBEE Commission by:
Sidwell Medupe – Departmental Spokesperson
Department of Trade and Industry
Tel: +27 12 394 1650
Mobile: +27 79 492 1774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
Follow us on Twitter: @the_dti
