Deputy President Paul Mashatile and his wife Humile Mashatile. Picture: X/@ThuliMadonsela3
Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s office is set to return “unsolicited” precious stone gifted to his wife, Humile Mashatile, by diamond Ponzi scheme-accused Louis Liebenberg.
The deputy president’s acting spokesperson, Keith Khoza, said this came amid several allegations against Liebenberg.
“As previously reported, the Head of the Office of the Deputy President, Mr. Mduduzi Mbada engaged professionals to verify the stone’s authenticity and value for purposes of declaring it in Parliament.
“Due to the nature of allegations made against the donor, the Head of Office decided that the gift be returned,” Khoza said.
Khoza said arrangements are currently underway to return the gift.
“The Deputy President and Mrs Mashatile are fully briefed and have agreed to the decision.”
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Liebenberg, his wife, and seven others stand trial on 42 charges of fraud, theft, racketeering, and money laundering.
The group is accused of running a scam involving unpolished diamonds and fraud.
Liebenberg vehemently denied the charges against him.
In a previous court appearance, Liebenberg requested to address the court for 20 minutes regarding issues he failed to mention previously.
He said that going through his notes he realised that he neglected to tell the court that he and his wife, Dezzi, visited Dubai, Mauritius, Spain, and Venice in 2023.
Liebenberg also told the court that he failed to disclose that he and Dezzi’s landlords had asked their rental agreements be terminated because of the intense media attention surrounding the case.
He said that he has been sick in prison the past few days and still feels ill.
“I would like to abandon my bail application at this stage, and we will revisit this with the requisition to court.”
The case was postponed to 4 February 2025 for further investigation, and Liebenberg will remain in custody.
Additional reporting by Carien Grobler
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