Court grants Thoshan Panday permission to travel for business

Corruption-accused Durban businessman Thoshan Panday has been granted permission to travel for business.

Panday appeared in the Durban Magistrates Court on Friday. The businessman applied to have his bail conditions relaxed in the Sars tax matter.

House arrest

Panday, who had been in custody since September after being arrested on tax-related charges, was granted bail of R100 000 by the Durban Magistrate’s Court in December owing to his health condition, ordering him to be confined to house arrest.

Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) spokesperson Henry Mamothame said the court lifted Panday’s house arrest and permitted him to travel for business purposes within the boundaries of South Africa.

“The bail conditions are home affairs to cancel any of his travel documents and not to issue any new ones and not to leave the Republic of South Africa.”

ALSO READ: Businessman Thoshan Panday’s tax fraud trial set for October

Sars tax case

In the tax fraud case, the state alleged that Panday misrepresented to the South African Revenue Service (Sars) to either evade tax, assist others in evading tax or obtain undue tax returns.

It is alleged that SARS had suffered prejudice in the amount of approximately R 7.3 million due to these false tax declarations.

When Panday initially applied for bail in the tax fraud case, bail was denied on the grounds that he had violated his bail conditions.

During court proceedings, the prosecutor, relying on an affidavit from the investigating officer, argued that Panday was a flight risk if granted bail.

Bail conditions

In her judgment, Judge Esther Steyn concluded that Panday is a flight risk, considering that he had supplied false information to the court when he applied for a variation of the bail condition to travel to the United Emirates, Italy, Europe and other countries listed in his itinerary.

Unknown to the state, Panday travelled to the United States of America despite the High Court order permitting him to travel to Europe only.

Panday’s tax matter was postponed to 06 to 24 October 2025 for trial.

2010 World Cup case

Meanwhile, the corruption case against Panday and his eight co-accused concerning the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa has been postponed for a pre-trial hearing.

The 52-year-old Panday faces charges of fraud and corruption relating to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It is alleged that they colluded to award a contract valued at over R47 million for accommodation for the Saps.

Mamothame said the court postponed the corruption case to 08 May 2025.

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