Controversial businessman Sandile Majali did not own the house in Sandown, Sandton, he had put up for security when released on bail, City Press reported on Sunday.
The newspaper said it had established that Majali did not own the house where he and his son Phillip have been living for the past few years.
Majali put up the house as security when he was released on bail at the end of October following his arrest for allegedly hijacking mining company Kalahari Resources.
Prosecutor Shaun Abrahams confirmed to the paper that Majali put up the property at Adrienne Street, Sandown, as security.
This was after he claimed he could not afford to pay a large bail amount and negotiated with the state to pay R10 000 if he put up a property as security.
Majali (48) was found dead in his room at the Sandton Quatermain Hotel in Johannesburg on December 26.
City Press reported that at the time of his death Majali did not own any property under his name, was in “serious” financial trouble and facing at least three criminal probes.
Majali hit the headlines following his role in the Oilgate saga that saw him donate R11-million of PetroSA’s funds to the African National Congress ahead of the 2004 elections.
He was arrested in October 2010 on fraud charges and released on bail after directorship of Kalahari Resources was changed from Brian Amos Mashile and his sister Daphne Mashile-Nkosi to a group of eight people, including Majali.
The two siblings brought an urgent interdict before the high court in Johannesburg in an effort to reinstate themselves as directors of the company.
Majali was due to appear in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on January 18.
His co-accused Stephan Khoza, Haralambos Sferopoulous and Elvis Bongani Ndala, recently appeared in court over their mental fitness to stand trial. – Sapa