Court grants R600k confiscation order against former crime intelligence boss

The Pretoria regional court on Thursday granted a confiscation order of R599,783 against former crime intelligence CFO Solomon Lazarus.

Lazarus was sentenced to 10 years in prison in December last year after being found guilty of corruption in a case linked to the looting of the Secret Service Account.

During his sentencing, the National Prosecuting Authority's Investigating Directorate also filed an application before the court to inquire into the benefits received by Lazarus. The law provides that after conviction the court may, on the application from the prosecutor, inquire into any benefit which the convicted person may have derived from that offence.

The ID has argued that the benefits Lazarus received from the crime he was convicted of amount to close to R2.2m. The ID had argued that Lazarus received benefits totalling close to R1.3m from January 2008 to April 2012. It said this included benefits received in respect of an all-terrain vehicle, a Kia Picanto, a Nissan Murano, a Honda CBR and a payment in respect of a scooter.

The state also argued that the close to R1.3m represented historical values and that it should be expressed in current terms, namely R2.1m.

However, the court on Thursday found that Lazarus’s total benefit was R599,783, taking into consideration the consumer price index (inflation) to determine the current value of the vehicles.

Lazarus is out on bail as he has appealed against both his conviction and sentence.

ID spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka welcomed the granting of the confiscation order and said justice has prevailed.

“This we hope will serve as a deterrent to other police officers, more particularly high ranking officers, to refrain from corruption and to refrain from using state coffers for personal means,” Seboka said.

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