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Johannesburg - The Swiss company which bought Tegeta Exploration and Resources is shrouded in mystery.
On Wednesday Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments announced that it has sold Tegeta to Swiss-based Charles King SA for R2.97bn.
In a veiled reference to the sale, former finance minister Pravin Gordhan told Parliament on Wednesday that he is "getting SMSes now telling me the Swiss buyer of Tegeta Resources has an interest in fashion, clothing articles and shoes. So something strange is going on."
Swiss company registration documents show the company was established in 2011 and its head office is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The company lists only a Ronald A Beau as the director of the company.
Beau is listed as a director in a number of registered European holding companies, and apparently serves as a secretary for many shell companies. He is cited as a director for over a hundred registered companies in total.
An Oakbay statement cited Amin al-Zarooni as the owner of Charles King, but not much is known about him.
At first glance, Charles King seems to have overextended itself with the purchase price of R2.97bn for Tegeta. Documents filed in 2001 show Charles King has a capitalisation of R1.36m (Sf100 000).
The registration documents said the purpose of Charles King is the creation, manufacture, distribution and international distribution of any product and the holding of interests in industrial and commercial companies.
Documents show that the company in the past manufactured and distributed the fashion brand Charles King Paris.
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