Cape Town — Former Transnet and Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe, and former Transnet CFO, Anoj Singh, will need to wait until October to hear when there trial will start.
The two, alongside several other Transnet executives, appeared in front of the Johannesburg High Court on Friday as they all face charges of contravention of the Public Finance Management Act and fraud. The accused face charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering that stem from a tender where 1 064 locomotives were procured at a value of R54 billion, The Citizen reported.
Their case was postponed to 11 October, when a trail date will be set, and all parties agreed the state would reply by 17 September 2024. Among the other people implicated include former Transnet executives, Siyabonga Gama, Garry Pita, Phetolo Ramosebudi, Regiments Capital Directors, Niven Pillay and Litha Nyonnhya, Trillian Asset Management’s Director, Daniel Roy (Novum Asset Management), and Albatime Pty Ltd owner Kuben Moodley
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Henry Mamothame explained that the court objected Shaun Abrahams from representing Molefe in his case.
Shaun Abraham’s is now Brian Molefe’s lawyer. They don’t even hide it any more. The only thing we can do with corruption is kill it
— Rob ZA (@robjhb) May 11, 2024
“The state has put it on record that it objects to Advocate Shaun Abrahams representing Brian Molefe in the matter, as he was the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) when a strategy was put in place for prosecuting the matter,” he said.
All parties agreed that the state would reply by 17 September 2024 to further particulars from the defence attorneys.
According to IOL, Regiments Capital was irregularly brought into the contract and benefited from this, increasing the contract’s value and scope to over R305 million. Mamothame said Gupta-linked Regiments Capital was irregularly on-boarded, and the contract value and scope for the services required later ballooned to more than R305 million.
He said the accused had also been charged in connection with R93.4 million that was paid to Trillian Asset Management – another Gupta-affiliated entity – in 2015.
“The NPA’s Investigating Directorate is on course in ensuring that those allegedly responsible for state capture are held accountable and that impunity is no longer a given,” Mamothame said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
