Austrian national Manuel Stofleth di Mitterer has once again failed in his judicial attempts to shut out his business partners Ebrima Solomon Tamba and Marcel Limbertus Van Andel from any managerial or executive role in their multimillion dalasi business partnership.
Lawyers acting on the Austrian’s behalf last month appealed a high court judgement that declared his suit against his business partners as evidently procedurally flawed.
Tamba, Andel and Stofleth entered a partnership agreement around 2021 to construct 31 holiday apartments, an underground garage and a restaurant in Bijilo. The apartments were to be sold off-plan by Manuel as per the agreement because he had no money to contribute. Tamba and Andel provided the financial resources while Stofleth provided technical assistance. The land on which the apartments were built was provided by Solomon. Solomon and Marcel then granted him 30% shares as an incentive.
However, the partnership ran into troubled waters when Manuel started to receive money from investors without the knowledge of his partners. Some of the apartments at the Bitcoin Tower were reportedly priced higher than apartments in high-end European cities. The Austrian gave assurances to his partners that the apartments were doing very well on the European market but he consistently failed in rendering an account to his partners on the claim that he lodged the proceeds into his cryptocurrency wallets. He is still refusing to allow the police to access the details of the cryptocurrency transactions stored in his laptop computer and is consequently being tried at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court on the charge of disobeying a lawful order.
Earlier this year, Manuel’s lawyers filed a suit against Tamba and Andel at the Kanifing High Court, seeking a court order to restrain the partners from any managerial or other roles in the Kasumai Real Estate under which the Bitcoin Tower apartments are being constructed. Lawyer Kebba Sanyang, acting on behalf of Tamba and Andel, contended that Kasumai Real Estate cannot be divorced from the suit.
The court in its earlier judgement dismissed the matter on procedural grounds. It held that the suit against Tamba and Andel cannot be divorced from the Kasumai Real Estate, but
Mitterer’s lawyers had asked the court to review its judgement.
Counsel Sanyang argued in opposition. He strongly argued that the high court does not ordinarily review its own judgement, except in “limited circumstances”. Counsel Sanyang further contended that this case did not fall within that bracket.
The Kanifing High Court, chaired by Justice Kwabeng, Monday upheld its earlier decision that Manuel’s lawyers have erred in procedure and, therefore, dismissed the Austrian’s appeal. He was ordered to pay D10,000 and was also informed that he has exhausted all the possibilities of an appeal at the high court.
