A Cape High Court judge on Wednesday reserved his ruling on a forfeiture application against former LeisureNet joint chief executives Peter Gardener and Rod Mitchell.
Though the two men, according to their legal team, have already paid over R29,5-million to liquidators, the state says there is a shortfall of at least half a million rands each.
Advocate for the state Geoff Budlender argued on Wednesday that this was ”intolerable”.
The amount might not be a lot in the context of people who were already rich, but it was a lot to ordinary people.
”Offenders should not be allowed to walk away from their crimes with even part of their profits,” he said.
He was reacting to a comment by acting judge Dirk Uijs that he would have been ”a lot more impressed” by the state’s case if the liquidators had allied themselves to its argument.
However they did not appear to have done so, and this raised the difficult question of victimless crime, or repayment to a non-victim.
Advocate Francois van Zyl, appearing for Gardener and Mitchell, urged Uijs not to use ”fine legal calipers” in working out to the last cent what his clients should pay.
He said the liquidators had been satisfied with the amount paid, and had, according to his clients, in fact got more than they should have.
In these circumstances, Uijs should ask himself whether it was appropriate to make a further order for confiscation.
Uijs said he would take some time to consider his ruling. He did not set a date.
Gardener and Mitchell were sentenced in April to an effective eight and seven years jail respectively on R12-million fraud charges related to a dodgy German gym deal.
They are on bail pending an appeal against both conviction and sentence.
The state claims the money it is now seeking, under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, is part of the proceeds of the deal. – Sapa