Former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi was sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment for fraud and corruption, wholly suspended for five years by the Pretora high court on Thursday.
The sentence was passed after Agrizzi entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac).
He pleaded guilty to three counts of corruption and one count of money laundering.
Agrizzi was initially charged with former correctional services commissioner Linda Mti, the department’s former CFO Patrick Gillingham and former Bosasa CFO Andries van Tonder.
The charges are in connection with four tenders awarded by the department to Bosasa and its subsidiaries valued at more than R1.8bn between August 2004 and 2007.
Contracts were for the rendering of catering and training services, installation of CCTV cameras, perimeter fencing, and the supply of television systems and monitoring equipment.
Agrizzi has not attended court since he took ill in October 2020.
The sentence was suspended on various conditions, including that Agrizzi co-operates with the Idac and provide investigators assigned to the investigation of the matter with affidavits, detailing the full extent of his knowledge of all matters investigated by the Idac regarding the corruption by both public and/or private officials at Bosasa.
“The Idac affirms that while the crimes committed were severe — representing a critical component of state capture — the agreement secures a definitive conviction and mandates Agrizzi’s continued and truthful co-operation,” said Idac spokesperson Henry Mamothame.
He said the co-operation by Agrizzi, which includes providing affidavits and testifying in all proceedings, was indispensable to the National Prosecuting Authority’s ongoing investigations and future prosecutions against other high-level individuals implicated in the Bosasa corruption network.
“This outcome ensures that the pursuit of broader accountability is prioritised. Furthermore, the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit will proceed with an opposed confiscation inquiry to recover the proceeds of these criminal activities,” Mamothame said.
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