More arrests expected in Thoshan Panday 2010 World Cup corruption case

11 November 2020 - 13:56 By Orrin Singh
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Durban businessman Thoshan Panday appeared in the Durban magistrate's court on Tuesday along with former cop Navin Madhoe, former KZN police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni and wheel-chair bound former policeman Ashwin Narainpershad.
Durban businessman Thoshan Panday appeared in the Durban magistrate's court on Tuesday along with former cop Navin Madhoe, former KZN police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni and wheel-chair bound former policeman Ashwin Narainpershad.
Image: Investigating Directorate Communications

More people are expected to be arrested in the high-profile corruption matter involving Durban businessman Thoshan Panday, former KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni and former cops Ashwin Narainpershad and Navin Madhoe.

This was revealed when all four accused appeared in the Durban magistrate's court on Tuesday.

In what has been a decade-long case, the state revealed that it was seeking a racketeering certificate after a sitting with national director of public prosecutions (NDPP) advocate Shamila Batohi, scheduled for next week.

In legal terms, racketeering refers to a defined group of people and/or entities who conduct repeated crimes which are committed over a period of time.

The racketeering certificate would allow the state to draw in a lot more people to be charged in the matter, as they would be charged together, as opposed to individually.

Prosecutor Talita Louw said the state was ready to make an application for a racketeering certificate but had been set back by a letter which Batohi had received from former KZN director of public prosecutions, Moipone Noko.

Noko, now the North West head of prosecutions, in 2014 declined to prosecute in the matter and dropped the charges against Panday, Edward Zuma's business partner, and Col Madhoe.

She aired her case to Batohi in a 57-page letter, which TimesLIVE is in possession of. 

In the letter she detailed that she did not decide on the case involving Panday and Ngobeni - in which Panday allegedly forked out R26,000 for Ngobeni's husband's birthday party in 2010 - but the decison to not prosecute was at the time taken by the acting DPP for KZN, advocate Simphiwe Mlotshwa.

All four are accused of corruption linked to 2010 Fifa World Cup police tenders involving about R47m.

They have been charged with multiple counts of corruption. Three of them face five counts of fraud, two counts of forgery and one count of uttering (when a person offers as genuine a forged instrument with the intent to defraud).

Ngobeni was charged with defeating the ends of justice as she ordered investigators to stop their investigation into tender fraud. As a high-ranking officer, it was her duty to report fraud and criminal activity.

In February, the state capture inquiry heard how Panday allegedly captured top police officials before the 2010 World Cup. This was detailed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) auditor Trevor White, who testified at the inquiry.

The case was postponed to December 17.

All accused will remain out on bail until their next appearance.

TimesLIVE


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