Controversial businessman Thabiso Hamilton Ndlovu and his associated company, Zaisan Kaihatsu (Pty) Ltd, have been dealt a blow after losing a bid to stop the auction of his Bryanston home linked to an irregular personal protective equipment (PPE) deal.
The Pretoria High Court dismissed with costs an application to stop the auction of the R7.1 million luxury Bryanston house that belongs to Ndlovu.
Zaisan Kaihatsu (Pty) Ltd attempted to block the auction in the high court without success.
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The high court order comes after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU)and the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) accepted an offer of R7.1 million for the Bryanston home as part of the implementation of investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover losses suffered by the state and NHLS.
The luxury house was auctioned on July 4, following a final forfeiture order that the Special Tribunal confirmed in January.
The SIU welcomed the ruling, saying processes were underway to implement the forfeiture order.
The investigating unit was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of corruption, malpractice, maladministration, and irregularities in procuring goods and services by State institutions in response to Covid-19.
An investigation found that eight companies, directly and indirectly, linked to Ndlovu had obtained contracts worth a total of R172.7 million for PPE.
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In June 2022, the Tribunal ordered that the PPE tender, awarded by the NHLS to Ndlovu and associated companies, be declared invalid and unlawful.
The SIU investigation also established that the contracts were obtained by abusing the emergency procurement procedures that the NHLS adopted to respond to the Covid-19 disaster during the first half of 2020.
The investigating unit obtained and analysed the bank statements of Ndlovu’s front companies and other companies and individuals linked to him.
“The analysis showed that, apart from an amount of about R15 million that appears to have been used for the purchase of PPE, the funds received from the NHLS were not used to obtain supplies of PPE to deliver upon the contracts to the NHLS,” said the SIU.
“Instead, almost 90% of the funds flowed to Ndlovu for his personal use.”
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