EDITOR"S NOTE: This article was updated on 20 August 2026 to apologise to Rafik Mohamed and others (Coin Wise Trading 42, Pro Roof Industrial Park and the Pro RM Group). The article was also updated to accurately reflect the ownership of SA Steel Mills (SASM) and to include the outcome of the arbitration and appeal proceedings, as the omissions caused reputational harm.
APOLOGY
The Mail & Guardian published an article on 22 May 2026 with the headline, "Emberton placed under scrutiny".
On 15 July 2026, the Press Council of South Africa published a ruling on a complaint brought by Rafik Mohamed against the Mail & Guardian, wherein five (5) of seven (7) alleged breaches of the Press Code were dismissed.
In respect of the remaining two (2) breaches, the Mail & Guardian hereby apologises to Mr Rafik Mohamed, Coin Wise Trading 42, Pro Roof Industrial Park and the Pro RM Group, for failing to accurately reflect the ownership of SASM and for omitting the outcome of the arbitration and appeal proceedings and causing reputational harm as a result of these omissions. These omissions have been corrected in the updated article.
Visit the Press Council website for the full finding in Rafik Mohamed and Others vs Mail & Guardian.”
Against a background of payments under scrutiny — amid claims that UK-based Emberton Limited was used to launder money by SA Steel Mills (SASM) and inflated invoices from India — the Mail & Guardian has learnt that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is close to deciding whether to charge the suspects linked to alleged fraudulent transactions.
The suspects have made warning statements to the SA Police Service but have declined to comment on the allegations. The M&G understands the probe includes Emberton, seen by authorities as a crucial link in entities involved in the external movement of public funds.
At the time of going to print, NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago was not available for comment.
Sources have said the South African Reserve Bank and the South African Revenue Service investigative units “take these allegations very seriously and warrants a joint investigation into the conduct of these entities”.
The M&G has reported that affidavits seen by the newspaper point to concerns over due diligence processes and a flawed business case underpinning more than R1.2 billion in funding from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s Black Industrialist Scheme to SASM, a steel manufacturer in Meyerton, east of Johannesburg.
Revelations have also emerged about how the IDC funded SASM — an insolvent entity — using public funds. The IDC maintains that funding applications are assessed through “a comprehensive due diligence process”.
Lawyer Ian Small-Smith, representing complainants in the criminal complaint, declined to comment, saying law enforcement “must be left alone to do their work”.
Allegations of fraud and embezzlement are contained in affidavits deposed by feuding parties. About R121.5 million is allegedly linked to payments associated with Emberton Limited. The steel manufacturer has faced financial difficulty in recent years, leading to the sale of Pro Roof Industrial Park, which owns SA Steel Mills and the land on which its steel mill operates.
Coin Wise Trading 42 (Pty) Ltd, Pro Roof Industrial Park (Pty) Ltd and the Pro RM Group have denied claims of money laundering, dismissing them as “nothing new”".
In a response on behalf of Rafik Mohamed and the three entities, law firm Shaheed Dollie Incorporated said the allegations formed “part of the disputed factual narrative advanced by Alfeco and PRIP, including in support of their damages claim and counterclaim in the private arbitration proceedings”.
“Our clients deny in the strongest terms that SA Steel Mills, Mr Mohamed, Coin Wise, PRIP, the Pro RM Group or any person acting on their behalf, used Emberton or any related transaction, to launder money, inflate invoices, misappropriate funds or dishonestly extract value from SA Steel Mills or the IDC funding structure.”
The firm said: “The transaction and the entitlement of Alfeco to retain the PRIP shares were ventilated in private AFSA arbitration proceedings before Adv Azhar Bham SC.
“Those proceedings culminated in an award delivered on 12 December 2025. "The sale of shares and claims agreement was declared to be of no force and effect; it also ordered the restoration of the status quo ante by the return of the PRIP shares to Coin Wise. Alfeco and PRIP’s counterclaim was abandoned and costs were awarded against them".
Alfeco and PRIP subsequently pursued an appeal, which did not alter this outcome — the appeal panel rejected their attempt to retain the PRIP shares based on an alleged oral or tacit agreement
It said the Emberton issue “formed part of Alfeco’s broader attack on Mr Mohamed and the previous management of SASM”, though questions on Emberton were not answered and no transactional clarity was provided.
“That attack was advanced in circumstances where Alfeco had obtained access to the books and records of PRIP and SASM, had taken interim management, had pursued the retention of the PRIP shares and had advanced a damages counter claim in arbitration.
“Our clients deny that Mr Mohamed, Coin Wise, PRIP, the Pro RM Group or the previous management of SASM stole monies, misappropriated IDC funds, procured false accounting entries for personal benefit, laundered money, inflated invoices, dishonestly used Emberton or any other entity as a conduit, dishonestly misrepresented the financial position of SASM, PRIP or related entities or acted unlawfully in relation to the IDC funding arrangements.”