Four businessmen linked to R76m Transnet tender in court

Four businessmen and their companies accused of money laundering in connection with a tender linked to 1,064 Transnet locomotives appeared in the Johannesburg magistrate’s court on Friday. 

The court released Allan Wayne Tichauer, Sudesh Premchand Rocharam, Yaasien Mahomed and Rafael Bricker on R50,000 bail each. It also imposed stringent conditions, including surrendering their passports to the investigating officer and reporting to their nearest police station once a week. 

Their case was postponed until January 28 to add another accused.

“Their court appearance emanates from a tender of relocating the assembling point of locomotives from Pretoria to Durban after the awarding of a tender to manufacture 1,064 electric and diesel locomotives.

“These accused allegedly misrepresented the relocation costs to Transnet,” Investigating Directorate Against Corruption spokesperson Henry Mamothame said. 

After the payment from Transnet into the account of China North Rail, which was contracted for the relocation, it is alleged that money was laundered through different companies owned by the other accused.

In February 2022, the state capture commission directed law enforcement agencies to launch criminal investigations against officials at Transnet for their alleged involvement in the procurement of 1,064 locomotives — the price of which was unlawfully increased by more than R15bn without a valid reason.

TimesLIVE