Bosasa whistleblower denied bail

Angelo Agrizzi, former COO of Bosasa and Zondo commission whistleblower, appeared in the specialised financial crime court sitting in Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on October 15.

He is facing charges of corruption alongside fellow accused former ANC MP Vincent Smith. Agrizzi’s legal team brought the formal application for him to be released on bail, while Smith was excused to appear again at the next appearance on December 3.

Agrizzi gave himself over to the Brackendowns Police Station earlier that day. He entered the court carrying a mobile oxygen machine and the court heard from the defence that he was unable to attend the previous appearance due to being in hospital.

They indicated they complied with and liaised with the investigating officer to hand Agrizzi over to police on the day of his appearance.

Offshore assets

In what the defence described as a blindside, the state indicated they would oppose the bail application after reading the affidavit the defence had prepared.

The defence at length described this tactic as poor conduct between colleagues.

The state, however, said they decided it was necessary due to severe omissions from the affidavit of Agrizzi that entail substantial amounts of foreign assets.

The defence brought three affidavits before court, attempting to answer questions brought forth in an affidavit by Lt Col Bernardus Lazarus in which he indicated that in total with his common-law wife, Agrizzi had over R24-million in assets offshore.

This includes property in Italy and a luxury vehicle. Lazarus’s affidavit brought to the court’s attention an Italian passport that Agrizzi had reported lost to the Italian embassy. In his affidavit, Lazarus indicated he considers the accused to be a severe flight risk that has the means to sustain himself overseas.

In their reply to the affidavit, the defence indicated they limited themselves to his local assets and attached the letter that indicated the passport was reported lost.

They further asked the court to take into account Agrizzi’s medical condition in light of the rising amount of Covid-19 cases within the confined conditions of the correctional services.

Ruling

In a lengthy court ruling, magistrate Phillip Venter laid out his ruling over the application.

He indicated bail is used to ensure the attendance of the accused in court and is balanced against the person’s right to liberty. Venter commended Agrizzi’s role in the uncovering of state capture as a whistleblower and said he hopes more people would follow his example.

He, however, said the amount Agrizzi has invested overseas is enough to ensure him a comfortable life should he abscond from South Africa and while having foreign investments is not illegal, his failure to disclose this should be looked at.

The issue of the missing passport was brought up by Venter, indicating he would be irresponsible to not consider the porous nature of South Africa’s border and the potential for someone who has crossed the border to then travel anywhere.

He indicated that what was learnt in what he refers to as the “Gupta” saga was that extradition from a foreign country is an expensive and difficult matter. It is due to these reasons that Venter denied Agrizzi bail.
Agrizzi will remain in custody until his next appearance before the court on December 3.