Judgement is to be delivered at noon on Friday in the Cape High Court trial of former LeisureNet chief executives Peter Gardener and Rod Mitchell.
The two men face charges of fraud, money laundering and contraventions of the Income Tax Act and Companies Act.
LeisureNet, which operated the Health and Racquet Club, was liquidated in 2000 with liabilities of R1,2-billion and assets of only R302-million.
Gardener and Mitchell were allegedly party to an elaborate scheme to cheat LeisureNet through the fraudulent purchase of companies.
Their co-accused, business associate Johann Moser and Mitchell’s wife and financial manager Suzanne, were earlier in the trial discharged on money laundering charges.
In August, following the close of the state’s case, Gardener and Mitchell were acquitted on one charge of fraud involving an alleged R1,9-million kickback.
However, acting Judge Dirk Uijs ruled they had a case to answer on the alternatives to that charge.
The charge related to a May 1999 decision by LeisureNet’s board to take over Keystone, the architectural firm that designed its gyms, in which it already held a 49% share.
Uijs heard closing arguments in the case in October, and was originally due to give judgement in December but postponed it because of his workload. — Sapa