Court postpones Agrizzi and Mti’s R1.8 billion corruption case

The Pretoria High Court has postponed the pretrial conference for the corruption case against Linda Mti, Patrick Gillingham and former #Bosasa chief financial officer, Andries Van Tonder.

Mti is a former Department of Correctional Services (DCS) commissioner, while Gillingham is a former DCS chief financial officer.

The matter will be heard again on 7 August 2024.

The parties agreed on a postponement to allow for all outstanding documents to be provided before the set date.

The accused are facing charges of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, corruption, and money laundering.

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These charges are in connection with four tenders allegedly awarded to Bosasa and its subsidiaries by the DCS.

The tenders were valued at over R1.8 billion and awarded between 2004 to 2007.

The contracts were for the rendering of catering and training services, installation of CCTV cameras, perimeter fencing and the supply of television systems and monitoring equipment.

Agrizzi appears virtually

The matter against the former chief operations officer of Bosasa, Angelo Agrizzi, who is also charged in the case, had to be separated. This is due to his ill health.

ALSO READ: Bosasa R1.8bn corruption case delayed once again, Agrizzi no-show in court again

His attendance was conducted virtually and his pretrial date is also set for 7 August 2024.

The case has seen several delays in the past due to Agrizzi’s ill health. The legal representation of other accused in the case has also been an issue.

The former Bosasa COO has not appeared in court since October 2020, citing ill health.

Agrizzi has been unable to attend court proceedings since October 2020. He has a respiratory condition that requires him to receive oxygen therapy.

ALSO READ: State must ensure Agrizzi is safely taken to a mental institution for evaluation, court rules

His legal representation, Mannie Witz, has argued that Agrizzi should instead be allowed to appear in court virtually. This is against the state’s arguments that court proceedings could not continue without the accused present.

Last year, the court ruled that Agrizzi should appear virtually.