Nulane Investments money-laundering case begins in high court
The first high-profile state-capture case to go on trial is set down for six weeks
23 January 2023 - 14:24
by Isaac Mahlangu
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Accused in the Nulane Investments R24.9m fraud and money laundering case before the start of the trial at the Free State High Court. From left to right are Peter Thabethe, Limakatso Moorosi, Seipati Dhlamini, Iqbal Sharma and Ronica Ragavan. Picture: ZIPHOZONKE LUSHABA.
All six accused in the Nulane R24.9m fraud and money-laundering trial have pleaded not guilty, after being formally charged at the start of the trial in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Monday.
The first high-profile state capture case to go on trial is set down for six weeks.
The case is based on an alleged corrupt tender in which the moneywas paid to Nulane Investments to conduct a feasibility study for the Free State’s Mohoma Mobung project, on the basis that Nulane had unique skills to perform the work.
The state alleges that Nulane Investments, however, had no employees on its books and in fact subcontracted Deloitte to produce the report, for which it was paid R1.5m.
Gupta associate Iqbal Sharma was the last of the six accused to arrive in court at about 10am, just ahead of the start of the trial.
Gupta family associate and businessperson Iqbal Sharma in the dock in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on January 23. Picture: ZIPHOZONKE LUSHABA.
The feasibility study tender was given to Sharma’s company, Nulane Investments. It’s alleged that the only change made to the Deloitte report was to identify Paras dairy as a suitable implementing partner for the development of a milk processing plant in Vrede.
Others in the dock are:
Peter Thabethe, former head of the Free State department of rural development;
Limakatso Moorosi, former head of the Free State department of agriculture;
Seipati Dhlamini, former provincial agriculture CFO;
Dinesh Patel, Sharma’s brother-in-law and a representative of Nulane Investments; and
Islandsite director Ronica Ragavan.
The companies indicted are Nulane Investments 204 and Islandsite Investment One Hundred and Eighty.
The state began proceedings with prosecutor Jacyntha Witbooi reading the charges proffered against the accused into record. The accused face four counts of fraud, money laundering and contravening the Public Finance Management Act.
The first witness was an official from the Treasury’s forensic audit unit, Siphiwe Mahlangu.
Mahlangu was asked in February 2021 by the investigating officer to assess documents pertaining to the Nulane feasibility study contract and a memo that supported the deviation from the normal procurement processes.
Barely 15 minutes into Mahlangu’s testimony, as his evidence was led by prosecutor Peter Serunye, several objections were raised by defence lawyers. They raised objections on the admission of documents at the centre of the evidence presented by Mahlangu. The lawyers said they had not been presented with originals.
Dan Mantsha, representing Thabethe, called into question the admissibility of the documents, which Mahlangu assessed saying he was not the person who drafted those documents in the first place.
Ishmael Semenya, representing Moorosi, said while challenging the admissibility of the documents as evidence: “The police officer who gave the witness the documents can authenticate the documents and the witness cannot authenticate the documents.”
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Nulane Investments money-laundering case begins in high court
The first high-profile state-capture case to go on trial is set down for six weeks
All six accused in the Nulane R24.9m fraud and money-laundering trial have pleaded not guilty, after being formally charged at the start of the trial in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Monday.
The first high-profile state capture case to go on trial is set down for six weeks.
The case is based on an alleged corrupt tender in which the money was paid to Nulane Investments to conduct a feasibility study for the Free State’s Mohoma Mobung project, on the basis that Nulane had unique skills to perform the work.
The state alleges that Nulane Investments, however, had no employees on its books and in fact subcontracted Deloitte to produce the report, for which it was paid R1.5m.
Gupta associate Iqbal Sharma was the last of the six accused to arrive in court at about 10am, just ahead of the start of the trial.
The feasibility study tender was given to Sharma’s company, Nulane Investments. It’s alleged that the only change made to the Deloitte report was to identify Paras dairy as a suitable implementing partner for the development of a milk processing plant in Vrede.
Others in the dock are:
The companies indicted are Nulane Investments 204 and Islandsite Investment One Hundred and Eighty.
The state began proceedings with prosecutor Jacyntha Witbooi reading the charges proffered against the accused into record. The accused face four counts of fraud, money laundering and contravening the Public Finance Management Act.
The first witness was an official from the Treasury’s forensic audit unit, Siphiwe Mahlangu.
Mahlangu was asked in February 2021 by the investigating officer to assess documents pertaining to the Nulane feasibility study contract and a memo that supported the deviation from the normal procurement processes.
Barely 15 minutes into Mahlangu’s testimony, as his evidence was led by prosecutor Peter Serunye, several objections were raised by defence lawyers. They raised objections on the admission of documents at the centre of the evidence presented by Mahlangu. The lawyers said they had not been presented with originals.
Dan Mantsha, representing Thabethe, called into question the admissibility of the documents, which Mahlangu assessed saying he was not the person who drafted those documents in the first place.
Ishmael Semenya, representing Moorosi, said while challenging the admissibility of the documents as evidence: “The police officer who gave the witness the documents can authenticate the documents and the witness cannot authenticate the documents.”
TimesLIVE
High court holds VBS bank debtor liable for R6.5m loans
Second senior defence department official leaves under cloud
Musician Arthur Mafokate implicated in alleged lotteries fraud
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Spar hunts for CEO to clean up image
EMILE MYBURGH: Beware the danger of your business emails being compromised
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.