Khanyi Mbau's ex Theunis Crous out on the pavement soon

Controversial businessman Theunis Crous is one step closer to losing his slew of luxury houses and cars.

This after the Port Elizabeth High Court granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) an order to freeze his assets yesterday. It is unclear, however, which of his assets will be left for the unit after it learnt that Crous was sequestrated earlier this year by First National Bank.

The AFU headed to court in a bid to restrain Crous’s houses and cars after he, together with his business partner in Ho Hup Construction, Almero Pienaar, were criminally charged with tax fraud last year.

The charges follow a major tax probe by the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Crous and Pienaar are accused of claiming false VAT refunds between 2010 and 2011 for Ho Hup, which prompted SARS to pay the company R3.6 million.

Pienaar’s assets, including a house, a car, furniture and two lots of business interests, were also frozen yesterday.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman, Tsepo Ndwalaza,, said that, if the two are convicted, the AFU will apply for an order confiscating the frozen assets.

Details of Crous’s financial woes emerged after AFU obtained a provisional order restraining his assets.

Attaching these did not, however, prove easy as the the sequestration order came first, meaning SARS may not gain from the sale of any of Crous’s assets if he is found guilty.

Crous’s known assets at the time of the provisional restraining order included:

•Two Port Elizabeth houses in Summerstrand estimated at R3.4-million and R2.9-million.

•A house valued at R6.5-million in Johannesburg’s Dainfern estate.

•A unit in Morningside, Johannesburg, valued at R1.7-million.

•A Graaff-Reinet house bought for R150 000 in 2006.

•A Jeffreys Bay home estimated at R1.5-million.

•A 2007 Porsche estimated at R3.1-million.

•A VW Caddy valued at R95000.

•BMW X5s valued at R169000 and R389000.

•Furniture in one of the Summerstrand properties.

Trustees of his insolvent estate also recently revealed that his creditors include:

•Absa Bank, which is claiming more than R3.8-million;

•Standard Bank, in the region of R6-million; and

•First National Bank, which is claiming about R2.7-million.

The trustees have confirmed that Crous’s houses around the country are being sold to pay his creditors.

Crous and Pienaar will face the criminal charges against them next week in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Port Elizabeth.

Once a wealthy man, Crous (54) fell into the public eye when he had an affair with socialite Khanyi Mbau in 2009, publicly cheating on his 34-year-old wife Primrose.

Yesterday Crous declined to comment on the matter.