NATIONAL Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka was on Wednesday refused leave to appeal against a ruling that saw the return of assets seized by his unit from Wouter Basson, former head of South Africa’s Chemical and Biological Warfare Programme. Judge Pierre Roux of the Pretoria High Court said there is no chance of success on appeal. He earlier set aside an August 3 order in terms of which Ngcuka was authorised to seize Basson’s assets worth over R44-million. Roux said the matter appeal was of academic interest only, because the Prevention of Organised Crime Act that was in effect when the application was launched, clearly had no retrospective effect.