JUSTIN ARENSTEIN, Nelspruit | Thursday 10.00pm.
JUDGE Willem Heath grilled former Mpumalanga Parks Board (MPB) finance executive Nico Krugel on Thursday about a web of front companies and secret bank accounts allegedly used to embezzle at least R1,7-million from the State.
Heath and a panel of forensic investigators cross-questioned Krugel and a number of other as yet unnamed witnesses about the secretive network during a closed Section 5 hearing in Nelspruit.
The hearing is the first in a series designed to establish exactly how the money was channeled out of the MPB into two front companies in White River and Rustenburg.
The White River company, Phambili Construction, boasted at least one ANC Youth League member on its board and allegedly made a R105000 “donation” to the party using tax money.
It also allegedly funneled money to former provincial ANC Youth League secretary James Nkambule and suspended MPB chief executive Alan Gray. Both Phambili and the Rustenburg company, Nicvale Foods, are registered in Krugel’s name.
The money was reportedly paid to the two companies through a system of double or false invoicing and bookkeeping and was only detected after investigators began probing Mpumalanga’s R1,3-billion promissory note scandal.
Heath unit is currently interviewing witnesses about 30 of the larger suspect transactions.
Judge Heath declined to comment on the hearing on Thursday evening, saying he would only issue a statement after completing all his scheduled interviews on Friday afternoon. — African Eye News Service