Australian-listed Silver Heritage Group says it is confident that a consultancy agreement with a former Nepalese partner, Rajendra Bajgain, will be found to have been terminated validly by a Nepal court.
Silver Heritage announced on Friday that Bajgain had been granted a stay of termination after commencing court proceedings seeking reinstatement.
Bajgain had his agreement terminated in February after he publicly accused the company of failing to acquire necessary work permits for some senior staff at recently opened Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa.
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming at the time, the former partner was quoted in an article in local Nepalese news outlet My Republica in which he claimed the company had employed five foreign senior management staff illegally. The article suggested the staff were in Nepal on “free visas.”
Silver Heritage Managing Director and CEO Mike Bolsover denied the allegations and told IAG at the time that the unauthorized disclosure by Bajgain would lead “to sanctions being imposed by the company including but not limited to the potential termination of his consultancy agreement.”
According to a Friday filing, a substantive hearing will now determine whether the consultancy agreement with Bajgain should be reinstated, with a date for the hearing yet to be set.
“The company is confident that the consultancy agreement was validly terminated and believes that it will ultimately prevail when the substantive issues are ventilated before the court,” Silver Heritage said.
“The company has agreed with Mr Bajgain to continue ongoing discussions to settle the disputes between the parties without need for further court action.”
Silver Heritage launched South Asia’s first integrated casino resort, Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa, late last year.
