Hawks to decide on Malema probe

The Hawks have received a case docket against ANC Youth League president Julius Malema, says spokesman McIntosh Polela.

"A case docket against Mr Malema has arrived at the Hawks offices from the Brooklyn police station," he said on Tuesday.

Polela said the docket was handed to the head of the commercial crimes unit.

"That person is studying the case docket and we will make a decision on whether or not we will institute an investigation," he said.

AfriForum opened a corruption case against Malema at the Brooklyn police station in Pretoria after it was reported in City Press that he had a trust fund allegedly for deposits from business people.

The complaint was lodged according to the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004.

On Monday, the youth league responded to the allegations in City Press, saying "the ANCYL president is open and ready for investigations by SARS [SA Revenue Service] and any other law-enforcement agencies".

The league leadership said the trust was no secret, it was used for charitable purposes and it was "tax compliant".

The City Press report said Malema was the sole trustee of a secret family trust, which he allegedly used to bankroll his lavish lifestyle.

The paper reported that Malema denied the trust was being used to launder illicit funds but "declined to divulge its purpose or bank balance".

The trust was registered at the Office of the Master of the High Court in Pretoria in 2008, weeks after Malema was first elected youth league president.

Citing two "independent, well-placed sources with knowledge of Malema's financial dealings", City Press reported that the trust was being used by Malema and "his benefactors" to fund his lifestyle.

"Thousands of rands" were deposited into the account regularly, according to unnamed sources. "Frequent deposits are being made from different banks, especially in Limpopo."

One source told the paper he had deposited R200 000 into the trust's bank account after Malema facilitated a government tender for his benefit.

On Monday, the Mail&Guardian Online reported that Malema's 81-year-old grandmother, Sarah Malema, was also a trustee of the Ratanang Family trust.

The site reported that she was added as a co-trustee in May last year, according to the trust deed.

On Saturday, Malema sought an urgent court interdict to stop City Press publishing the report on the trust, but this was dismissed by Judge Colin Lamont in the High Court in Johannesburg.

Lamont ruled that Malema was a public figure and that the story was in the public interest. Further, he found the evidence contained in the City Press story "credible".