SA Rugby CEO ordered to pay £1.7million after losing appeal

SA Rugby Chief Executive Jurie Roux has lost his appeal and is now responsible to personally pay back more than ZAR37-million (£1.7 million) to the University of Stellenbosch.

SA Rugby, in response, said they will first consult their legal team before making any comment.

In December last year, Roux was ordered to repay the huge sum of money– which an arbitrator found he had misappropriated from the Stellenbosch University, between 2002 and 2010.

In 2013, when Roux was at the head of the Stellenbosch Rugby Club (Maties) – one of the most famous in world rugby – the audit firm KPMG submitted a preliminary report to the university which found that Roux had manipulated the finance system to channel millions unbudgeted expenditure into the rugby club.

Roux held senior positions in the university’s finance department and had been accused of manipulating the electronic accounting system.

He held the position of senior director in the university’s finance department when he was appointed CEO of SARU in 2013.

“The Executive Council [Exco] of SA Rugby has been advised of the outcome of the appeal of the arbitration process involving Jurie Roux and his former employer, Stellenbosch University,” said an SA Rugby statement.

“SA Rugby will make no further comment until such time as the Exco has had the opportunity to confer with its legal advisers.”

Professor Stan du Plessis, CEO of Stellenbosch University, said the institution was pleased with the outcome.

“SU [Stellenbosch University] is delighted that this case has been completed successfully, with awards in its favour on all its claims,” he said.

“This was due to SU’s commitment to good corporate governance.”