SAFA President, Danny Jordaan appears at Palm Ridge magistrate’s court alongside Trevor Neethling and Gronie Hluyo (SAFA CFO) in Johannesburg for corruption and fraud. Picture: Nigel Sibanda /The Citizen
South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan has been released on R20 000 bail after his arrest over alleged R1.3 million fraud.
He was arrested and charged with fraud after allegedly spending R1.3 million of the association’s funds for his personal benefit.
Jordaan appeared at the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Palm Ridge, Johannesburg, alongside Safa chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo and journalist-turned-businessman Trevor Neethling on fraud and theft charges.
19 witnesses are listed in the matter.
The courtroom was packed to capacity, with several Safa NEC members in attendance to support Jordaan. Among these were Safa COO Advocate Tebogo Motlanthe and CEO Lydia Monyepao.
Wearing a dark blue suit with a red and white tie, Jordaan stood with his hands behind his back in the dock.
He said he was told of his pending arrest and complied, but claimed to have not seen a copy of the police document outlining the detailed charges against him and so did not hand himself over.
“The police came to fetch me at my house and brought me before this court.”
Jordaan said he intended to plead not guilty and applied for bail. He asked that his passport not be surrendered, arguing he does a lot of travelling for work.
He said he had raised R10 000 for bail.
The State did not oppose bail, but asked for it to be set at R20 000.
The matter was postponed to 5 December.
Jordaan said he was not paid by Safa for his position as president but received as much as R100 000 annually, based on the association’s performance.
His Johannesburg property is valued at R6 million, with a house in the Eastern Cape worth R4 million.
He estimated the fittings and appliances in both homes came to an accumulated R2 million.
He has two cars, a Mercedes-Benz and a BMW, worth more than R700 000 collectively.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said that, between 2014 and 2018, Jordaan used the organisation’s resources for personal gain, including hiring a private security company for personal protection and a public relations company without the board’s authorisation.
The hiring of the communications company to manage his image came after former ANC MP and well-known singer, Jennifer Ferguson, alleged that Jordaan had raped her in 2017.
“The president is also reported to have violated Safa statutes, thus prejudicing Safa an actual loss of R1.3 million,” Mogale said at the time.
During a five-hour raid in March at Safa’s offices in Nasrec, Johannesburg, the Hawks seized a laptop, external hard drives, a USB, and documents.
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