On March 19, mining magnate Khumalo said he had missed for technical reasons the deadline to file papers in the matter concerning mining company Metallon International, registered in the British Virgin Islands. The order was handed down by the British High Court in December 2009, after Khumalo and BVI company failed to repay the loan. Khumalo was ordered personally responsible for the $5 mln debt, together with interest and costs.
In October 2009, claimants Bellevue Investment Corporation (registered in the Marshall Islands) and Baker Abdullah Saeed Mohammed Al Sadi, agreed to a consent judgment allowing Metallon International to repay the debt. When the BVI company failed to pay, the claimants went for Khumalo.
After Khumalo missed the deadline to file papers, he said that he was negotiating with Bellevue and Metallon’s managers to try to settle the matter out of court, rather than appealing the order in the court.