Assore seeks delinquent director ruling against ARM executive after Assmang tax delay
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Business Day (South Africa)
In South Africa, Assore is asking a court to declare Kajal Bissessor, a senior African Rainbow Minerals executive, a delinquent director after Assmang’s 2025 tax returns were filed late. The two companies each own half of the mining joint venture and blame one another for the delay, Business Day reports.
South African group Assore, which owns half of Assmang with African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), is asking a court to declare Kajal Bissessor, ARM’s commercial director, a delinquent director. The case concerns the late filing of Assmang’s tax returns for the 2025 financial year, according to Business Day, which cites Assore’s court papers.
Assore accuses Kajal Bissessor, who also serves as Assmang’s public officer, of putting ARM’s interests ahead of those of the joint venture. The group says the delay amounts to gross negligence and exposed Assmang to penalties, reputational damage and increased scrutiny by authorities, according to its court submissions.
ARM rejects this account and blames the delay on a lack of financial information from Assore, which handles the joint venture’s marketing activities. ARM is seeking, among other things, access to Assore’s bank statements, a request Assore rejects, saying it has provided the information needed for tax and accounting purposes throughout Assmang’s 20 years of operation, Business Day reports. Assore, in turn, accuses ARM of seeking to portray it as a minority partner and to use the tax issue to strengthen its position in the mining company’s governance.
