Court hears how nearly R1 million was spent fixing welding at Estina Dairy Farm

The Pretoria Regional Court has heard how almost a million rand was spent to repair shoddy welding work at the Estina Dairy Farm’s processing plant.

The trial against Gupta-linked Estina Dairy Farm-accused Kamal Vasram and Saliesh Indurjeeth concerning the R37.7 million commenced before the Pretoria Regional Court on Friday.

The two are currently out on R10 000 bail each.

Further trial

The trial, which began in March 2023, has been marred by lighting, water, and infrastructure issues, which have resulted in the matter being postponed several times.

Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) spokesperson Henry Mamothame said the matter was postponed to 18 August 2025 for further trial.

“The state will, however, prior to that, file an application for the admissibility of further evidence which has been sourced from another country. The court ordered the state to file its application by 06 June 2025 and the defence to file their reply by 07 July 2025.

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“Arguments will subsequently be heard on 18 July 2025 for the court to make a ruling on the admissibility of the evidence on 18 August 2025,” Mamothame said.

Shoddy welding

During court proceedings on Tuesday, engineer Koos Eksteen, who was appointed to manage the farm, continued with his testimony after it was cut short last month due to water outages at the court.

Eksteen testified about the state of the equipment.

“I saw the equipment when it was brought to the farm. The boiler was not clad (protected by wrapping) and was rusty, the valves, pipework and the pressure vessels in the ammonia pipes were the same.”

Eksteen told the court how a qualified engineer named Howard Cohen was brought in to inspect the pressure equipment, which could only be used if it was certified by an inspector.

Repair cost

The equipment was shipped to South Africa in 2013, and a team from India arrived in the country in 2014 to assemble the processing plant.

Eksteen testified that, according to Cohen’s report, “the welding was rejected as it did not conform to South African welding standards.”

He added that welders made joining pieces by cutting pipes and joining them instead of using T pieces (used to join adjacent pipes) and end caps, which were sheets of metal welded to the pipes.

According to Cohen’s recommendation, he said that the farm appointed a company to rejoin the welding at an extra cost of R990 000, while other companies were asking for almost R2 million, News24 reported.

Charges

Vasram and Indurjeeth face charges of fraud, contravention of Section 54(1)(A) of the International Trade Administration Act and contravention of Regulation 22 of the Exchange Control Act. The charges stem from a joint investigation by Sars and the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigating Directorate.

The charges arise from a joint investigation by Sars and the Investigating Directorate (ID) into the failed Free State project. Both have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

An investigation by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) and Sars into the Estina Dairy Project revealed that the accused allegedly submitted fraudulent and inflated customs clearance values, totalling approximately R37.7 million, for a pasteurisation plant imported from India. The plant was declared to be new, while it was allegedly second-hand.

Estina project

Gateway Limited in the UAE, a company linked to the Guptas, allegedly invoiced Estina for the importation of the pasteurisation plant.

The Vrede Dairy Project, initiated in 2012 on Krynaauwslust Farm near Vrede, Free State, was established in collaboration with Estina, a black economic empowerment firm, as part of the Mohoma-Mobung agricultural initiative led by the Free State provincial government.

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