Shuttleworth wants his R250m back

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth has taken the government to court to have the country's exchange control system declared unconstitutional.

He also wants the Pretoria High Court to set aside a R250-million levy he had to pay to get some of his assets out of the country and for the Reserve Bank to return the money.

He further seeks an order declaring the bank's so-called "closed door policy", which insists that the public communicate with it through the intermediation of authorised banks, unconstitutional and invalid.

Shuttleworth blames South Africa's existing system of exchange control for forcing him to emigrate in 2001.

He says in court papers that the system made it impossible to conduct his entrepreneurial and philanthropic ventures.

He had assets worth over R4.27-billion in South Africa when he emigrated. He only transferred them out of the country in 2008 and 2009, each time paying a 10% levy.

He currently lives on the Isle of Man and holds dual South African and UK citizenship.

His advocate, Gilbert Marcus SC, yesterday argued that South Africa's exchange control system was governed not by laws but by the dictates of an organ of state that were not accessible to the public. He argued they did not follow any constitutionally required process of promulgation and violated many constitutional rights.

The application continues before Judge Francis Legodi today.