- An attorney has been charged in connection with an allegedly corrupt tender for police vehicle branding.
- He allegedly received money in his trust account from a client, who is an accused in a case stemming from the tender.
- This, the State alleges, was done to prevent the funds from being frozen.
An attorney has been charged with money laundering in connection with an allegedly corrupt multimillion tender to mark police vehicles.
Reshay Ramsamy Naidoo appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Thursday where he was released on R5 000 bail. The State did not oppose his release on bail.
According to the State's allegations, he represented Prinesh Naidoo - a man who is an accused in the tender saga. Prinesh was the director of a company called Imbobezi Enterprises, which was involved in the tender.
In August 2020, Prinesh paid R920 000 into Naidoo's trust account and handed himself over to police on the same day.
Naidoo allegedly transferred the funds into his private bank accounts in small amounts and referenced the payments as fees. He allegedly withdrew the funds at a casino and used the money.
However, it is alleged that he later took out two loans for the amount so that he could replace it in his trust fund and pay it back into Imbobezi Enterprises' account. He referenced this payment as a refund.
The State believes that this was done to prevent the money being frozen through a court order. It alleges that his actions constituted money laundering.
Naidoo will now join his co-accused in the dock at the same court on Thursday in the tender case.
Tender
According to the State, a number of senior police officials colluded with private businesses to score the police branding tender.
It's alleged that there is clear evidence of collusive bidding, very high price inflations, tampering with bidders' documents and manipulation of procurement processes, among other procurement contraventions, in the awarding of the tender.
The State also alleges that gratifications were paid to the police officials involved.
To date, 72 people have been arrested since the investigation started in September 2018.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the arrests included high-ranking police officials.
"Almost every one of the SAPS employees have since been dismissed from the SAPS, following their alleged involvement in these cases," Naidoo said.
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