Appeals to Shamila Batohi, head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), have led to the stalling of the R420m fraud/corruption trial of medical doctor Mahendren Munsamy for allegedly swindling First National Bank and Sasol.
Munsamy, as well as entities Gas 2 Liquids and Lavela Petroleum, which are controlled by him, according to the state, appeared alongside former FNB employee Paragasen Reddy, Munsamy’s alleged employee Tania Wiener, Siviwe Mkhululi Mafanya and Sibusiso Romeo Khumalo on charges of racketeering, fraud and corruption.
The Mail & Guardian reports that Munsamy and Wiener are also implicated in a separate case of fraud, theft, money laundering, possession or use of proceeds of unlawful activities and assisting another to benefit from the proceeds of unlawful activities.
The two are accused of defrauding businessman Ravesh Moodley of about R7m, who opened a case against them after he said they duped him into investing in a bogus petroleum venture to buy 700 000 litres of fuel.
The charges are related to the combined R420m in “fraudulent guarantees” that Munsamy’s firms allegedly received from FNB to buy fuel from Sasol, which the state claims did not receive payment for the purchases.
Munsamy purportedly doled out bribes of nearly R2m to Reddy, who is accused of issuing the “fraudulent guarantees” between January and May 2011.
In the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) on Monday, the prosecutor, Advocate Steven Rubin, told Acting Judge William Karam that Reddy, who is the first accused, made representations to the NPA to have charges against him dropped but was unsuccessful.
“Accused one was not happy with that decision … and has appealed to the National Director of Public Prosecutions,” Rubin told the court, asking for a postponement to 13 March.
Asked by the judge why it had to take more than a month to make a decision, Rubin said there was a long process before representations reached Batohi, as they had to first go through several people, including the co-ordinator in the NPA head’s office, as well as the authority’s head of organised crime.
Reddy’s legal counsel advocate Marius Steenkamp said the case against his client was a “voluminous and quite technical matter”, while Piet du Plessis, who is Munsamy and Wiener’s legal representative, was concerned that his client was the only one of the accused not out on bail, and that they wanted “to move forward with the matter”.
“By 13 March these (representations) processes must have run,” Du Plessis said. He added, however, that he would not be representing Munsamy and Wiener when the trial started, and that attorneys from Pietermaritzburg would be their lawyers.
The judge ruled that Du Plessis should ensure that, by 13 March, the Pietermaritzburg attorneys had read and familiarised themselves with the docket, and consulted their clients in time for the pretrial conference.
The case has embroiled FNB and Sasol in a tense legal battle, with the latter seeking compensation from FNB for issuing guarantees for fuel the chemicals giant allegedly did not receive payment for. FNB insists it should not pay Sasol.
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