Xodus Gold in crisis

INVESTORS: FROZEN ASSETS, BOARD EXPULSIONS DEEPEN FRUSTRATIONS >>> Despite surging gold, silver and crypto prices, portfolios lag far behind.

- Ryk van Niekerk

ACTION. The Xodus board froze all investment pools last year, preventing members from withdrawing their funds for 19 months. Picture: Xodus website

(Xodus website)

Despite meteoric gains in gold, silver and cryptocurrencies over the past 18 months, Xodus Gold's reported portfolios have failed to keep pace, suggesting significant valuation discrepancies and uncertainty over whether the underlying assets are being accurately disclosed.

Over the past few weeks, the Xodus board has disclosed several different asset valuations, none of which have been supported by independent valuations.

This comes after the board, under the chairmanship of Josias van Zyl, unilaterally froze all investment pools in February last year, leaving members unable to withdraw their funds for 19 months. Frustration among investors has escalated, prompting a liquidation application.

The board's response has been to expel all members related to the liquidation application, as well as others who have publicly voiced their discontent.

In one of the more striking examples, the board expelled Aninda van der Vyfer after her son openly disputed the board's claim that members had unanimously endorsed the continued freezing of the pools and a motion of full confidence in the directors at the recent annual general meeting.

According to Moneyweb's information, more than 15 members have been suspended to date.

It has also come to light that the liquidators of Mirror Trading International (MTI) have issued a summons against Willem Pretorius, the founder and a director of Xodus Gold, and that there was more trading activity than he disclosed in his answering affidavit to the liquidation application.