Brown can bring it on, says FSB

Johannesburg - The Financial Services Board has said it looks forward to the possibility of facing convicted Fidentia fraudster J Arthur Brown in a civil case, reported the Sunday Times.

"He is more than welcome," FSB head Dube Tshidi told the newspaper about allegations that Brown plans to sue the FSB. "We are not going to play games. He must sue us."

This week, Brown was handed down a R150 000 fine and a suspended sentence after being convicted on two counts of fraud during a long-running court case.

Brown admitted to misrepresentations he made regarding investments entrusted to him, by Mantadia Asset Trust Company (Matco) and the Transport Education and Training Authority.

Matco, subsequently renamed the Living Hands Umbrella Trust, was responsible for paying money from the mineworkers' provident fund to the widows and orphans of workers killed in mine accidents.

Brown told the Sunday Times that the FSB report on his business dealings was the "biggest lot of hogwash in the history of any written document".

He said the board had "misunderstood" the structure of Fidentia because it was so "cutting edge".

"Unfortunately we were ahead of the curve," he said.

"I've got a big gripe with the board."