Peter Staude, Murray Hector Munro, Michael Edward Deighton, Rory Edward Wilkinson, Kamasagrie Singh, Samantha Shukla and Gavin Dykes Kruger appeared in the Durban Specailsed Commercial Crimes Court today on charges of fraud amounting to approximately
R3,5 billion. They also face charges of contravention of the Financial Markets Act, Companies Act, and Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).
Kruger who was a registered auditor and engagement partner at Deloitte and Touche was also charged with contravention of the Auditing Professions Act.
Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL) which is registered on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange has several subsidiaries, one of which is Tongaat Hulett Developments. It is alleged that between March 2015 and September 2018 the accused acted in common purpose to misrepresent to THL, its employees, creditors, shareholders, etc. that the revenue that was derived from land sales was the correct value, correctly reflected in the financial reports when in fact they had backdated sale agreements. This resulted in incorrect profits being declared and the managers receiving huge bonuses.
A case of fraud was reported at Durban North Police Station and the case docket was allocated to Hawks members from the Durban Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit for further investigation.
In court this morning, the seven were granted bail of R30 000 each with the following conditions:
– They surrender all passports and travel documentation to the Investigation Officer (IO) by 11 February 2022. This was with the exception of Wilkinson who advised the court through his legal representation that he has travel commitments in March. He will surrender his passport on his return.
– They do not apply for new travel documentation
– They get the permission of the IO for any travel out of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. This must be done 48 hours prior to the proposed trip and a travel itinerary must be provided.
The matter returns to court on 11 April 2022 for DPP instructions.