Durban - Seven former Tongaat Hulett executives charged with fraud amounting to R3.5 billion made their first appearance in the Durban High Court on Thursday.
The accused are: former CEO Peter Staude, Chief Financial Officer Murray Hector Munro, directors Michael Edward Deighton and Rory Edward Wilkinson, legal executive Kamasagrie Singh, finance executive Samantha Shukla and Gavin Dykes Kruger, an auditor at Deloitte and Touche.
They were arrested in February this year and have since appeared in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court.
It is alleged that between March 2015 and September 2018, the accused acted in common purpose to misrepresent to THL, its employees, creditors, shareholders, etc. that the revenue that was derived from land sales was the correct value, correctly reflected in the financial reports when, in fact, they had backdated sale agreements.
“This resulted in incorrect profits being declared and the managers receiving huge bonuses,” said Natasha Kara, spokesperson for the NPA.
They face charges of fraud amounting to approximately R3.5 billion, as well as charges of contravention of the Financial Markets Act, Companies Act and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).
“The case was adjourned to February 17, 2023 for a pre-trial conference,” said Kara.
Their bail of R30 000 each was extended.
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