Tongaat Hulett: Ex-executives in R3bn fraud granted bail

Former Tongaat Hulett executives, including ex-CEO and CFO, were granted R30,000 bail each in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday.

Former CEO Peter Staude, the ex-CFO Murray Hector Munro, Michael Edward Deighton, Rory Edward Wilkinson, Kamasagrie Singh, Samantha Shukla and Gavin Dykes Kruger appeared on charges of R3.5 billion fraud.

“They also face charges of contravention of the Financial Markets Act, Companies Act and Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA) after a massive fraud scandal that rocked the sugar and property group,” said KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.

A 2019 PwC forensic report into the group’s financials and operations pointed to serious accounting irregularities and corporate governance failures in the group under Staude and other senior executives.

ALSO READ: Another top exec resigns amid Tongaat Hulett scandal

Auditing firm Deloitte, which has been the company’s auditor for many decades, signed off on the accounting irregularities between 2011 and 2018. 

Tongaat Hulett at the time said PwC’s investigation identified major historical shortfalls in a number of areas, including governance practices, delegation of authority, decision-making, oversight, financial discipline, record keeping, systems usage and financial reporting.

After a major management overhaul, the company launched a R450 million civil claims against its former executives.

More than 8,000 employees had lost their jobs across its operations in three countries in the wake of the scandal. Subsequently, the JSE slapped Tongaat Hulett with a R7m fine for publishing false financial statements.

The seven accused were ordered to surrender all passports and travel documentation to the investigation officer (IO) by Friday.

“This was with the exception of Wilkinson who advised the court through his legal representation that he has travel commitments in March. He will surrender his passport on his return.

“They do not apply for new travel documentation, and must get the permission of the officer for any travel out of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. This must be done 48 hours prior to the proposed trip and a travel itinerary must be provided.”

They are all expected back in court on 11 April.

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