The family members and a personal assistant of controversial Durban businessman, Thoshan Panday, appeared at the Durban Magistrate's Court on Friday facing multiple charges of fraud and corruption relating to the 2010 FIFA World Cup police accommodation case.
Arvenda Panday (Thoshan's mother), Privisha Panday nee Summurjeeth (Thoshan's ex-wife), Seevesh Maharaj Ishwarkumar (Thoshan's former brother-in-law), Kajal Ishwakumar nee Panday (Thoshan's sister) and Tasleem Rahiman (Thoshan's personal assistant) made a brief appearance at court.
They were all released on bail, with the case being remanded to May 21 at Durban High Court for a pretrial hearing.
The five who appeared on Friday will join the original four of Thoshan, former policemen Navin Madhoe and Ashwin Madhoe and former Kwazulu-Natal Police Commissioner Mmamonye Ngobeni.
During the period of March 2009 and April 2012, the nine accused allegedly conspired to defraud the South African Police Service of over R47 million.
In court documents, the state alleges that Thoshan's business entities received numerous tenders from the SAPS to accommodate KZN policemen before and during the 2010 World Cup which was hosted in South Africa.
Sindusiwe Seboka, the National Prosecuting Authority's Investigative Directorate Spokesperson, said the five who appeared today formed part of a bigger syndicate that Thoshan was central to.
Seboka said most of the entities who received the accommodation tenders were created in 2009, in anticipation of the incoming tender contracts.
"We want the matter to proceed in earnest at the (Durban) high court, where the matter of corruption, fraud, money laundering and racketeering saying this is a bigger syndicate can be properly ventilated in the high court," she said.