Party those legal blues away!

05 January 2014 - 02:05 By TASCHICA PILLAY
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Happy New Year - Even though Durban's high-living Shauwn Mpisane has had a fortune in assets seized and is facing a barrage of fraud allegations involving millions of rands, she and her husband, Sbu, ushered in 2014 vowing to ...

Most people in trouble with the law might want to stay under the radar till the dust settles - not so Durban socialite Shauwn Mpisane, who faces multiple charges of fraud.

She and her husband, Sbu, ushered in the new year by splurging R17-million altogether on identical Rolls-Royces, which they gave each other as "batons of hope" for 2014 ahead of a New Year's Eve bash at their La Lucia mansion.

The event, themed "The Journey Begins", was organised by soapie actress and events manager Sophie Ndaba.

About 100 people attended, including actors Connie and Shona Ferguson and Terry Pheto.

The party came just a month after the Mpisanes splashed out on staff of their Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport company, handing out such gifts as plasma TVs, smartphones, home-theatre systems and cheques of up to R25000 at an event outside Pietermaritzburg.

But the Mpisanes, who are beneficiaries of eThekwini municipality housing contracts worth hundreds of millions of rands, said this week that their legal woes and the various allegations against them had set them back.

"Going in and out of court, and the negative exposure, has badly impacted on us, our family, and our business associates," said Sbu, a former metro police officer.

He said that "2011 to date" had been a difficult time, and things would remain tough "until such time as we gain back our peace".

"Yet, we have learned, and still do, to survive the storms and maintain our motto, 'Success in the business world through the Almighty'," he said.

Shauwn is scheduled to make two court appearances this month. The first is in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court, where she faces 53 charges of fraud. She is accused of submitting forged documents to obtain gradings from the Construction Industry Development Board, which were used to win R140-million in tenders from the Public Works Department.

The second case, scheduled for January 31 in the Pinetown Regional Court, concerns allegations that she interfered with a witness in another fraud case against her, which is under way in the Durban Magistrate's Court.

In that case she is accused of inflating invoices by R4.7-million in an attempt to evade taxes. She faces 119 counts of fraud in that matter.

In February last year, the Asset Forfeiture Unit seized assets including 62 cars estimated to be worth more than R30-million from the couple. In August, the Mpisanes paid R5-million in cash, on top of other payments, to get many of the vehicles back.

Sbu said that some of the cars had been "discarded by choice", but he did not elaborate.

Asked how much they had paid in legal fees, he said: "A lot has been spent, not only the money ... but in the pain and suffering one has endured that is priceless, based on baseless accusations."

He said he and Shauwn were wishing for a better 2014."Our plan and resolution for 2014 is for peace, as well as growth, without looking back," he said.

pillayt@sundaytimes.co.za

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