Three senior officials of the collapsed Saambou Bank were granted bail of R50 000 each when they appeared in the Pretoria Regional Court on Wednesday on 13 charges involving about R640-million.
Gerhardus de Clercq (37), Johan Myburgh (62) and Charles Edwards (55) each face 10 charges of fraud, one of theft and two of contravening the Companies Act.
The case was postponed to November 22 for further investigation. A high-court trial date is expected to be set at their next appearance.
The three men handed themselves over to the Scorpions special investigations unit in Pretoria in the morning. Under their bail conditions, they had to hand in their passports and were not allowed to contact any witnesses.
According to the provisional charge sheet, the men stand accused of preventing information on the failing financial status of Saambou Bank and Saambou Holdings being disclosed to shareholders, depositors and investors.
They allegedly deceived stakeholders in a bid to retain their confidence in order to continue attracting investment and prevent share prices from falling.
They knew that disclosing weak financial results could harm confidence and depress the share price, which would weaken their own financial position, the charge sheet states.
The men were company shareholders and received annual bonuses tied to the performance of the share price.
They were also beneficiaries of Saambou Bank loans to employees to fund the purchase of listed shares.
De Clercq owned 1,2% of Saambou Holding’s total listed shares, Myburgh 7,46% and Edwards 5,16%.
De Clercq was general manager of Saambou Holdings group finance and later of strategic alliances. Myburgh and Edwards were both executive directors of Saambou Holdings and Saambou Bank.
They indicated through their legal team on Wednesday that they intend pleading not guilty to all the charges.
Saambou Bank was placed under curatorship in February 2002, by which time it had a net deficit in assets of about R2-million.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi told reporters in Pretoria in the morning that the charges relate to misrepresentations made on the company’s financial status, which caused people to suffer losses.
The possibility of seizing their assets in a bid to recoup these losses has not arisen.
Nkosi said further arrests are unlikely.
The trial is expected to start next year. — Sapa