IN PICS | Luxury houses, cars, jewellery held over 53 unlawful police contracts

Double-storey houses, classic and luxury cars, jewellery, furniture and musical instruments were among the assets restrained by the NPA's Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) on Thursday in connection with 53 unlawfully awarded police contracts.

The AFU was on April 28 granted a restraint order by the Pretoria high court and the order was served on the defendants on Thursday morning.

Investigating Directorate spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said the restraint order sought to "recoup any benefit the accused and implicated companies may have derived, received, or retained from the two open tenders and 48 contracts awarded pursuant to invitations of written price quotations".

"The NPA is seeking to recover an amount of R102m from the persons who were unlawfully awarded contracts by the SAPS.

"The 45 persons whose assets have been restrained are facing charges relating to 53 contracts that were unlawfully awarded to 26 companies," Sebok said.

She said the state was alleging that the companies owned and controlled by Kishene Chetty and his father, Krishna Chetty, were unlawfully awarded the contracts by the police.

"It is alleged that fraudulent B-BBEE certificates were submitted in support of written price quotations, and that the 26 companies were involved in cover quoting. Members of SAPS' supply chain management division allegedly colluded with the Chetty family and defrauded the SAPS of tens of millions."

Seboka said written price quotations were sourced from companies effectively owned and controlled by Chetty and his father, but having other people listed as sole directors.

The accused, cited as defendants, were found to have acted collusively in making false and fraudulent misrepresentations in their tender bid to the police, as a result of which two national tenders, valued at R59m and R29m  respectively plus 48 contracts worth R9.8m, were awarded.