Former Tongaat Hulett executives granted bail of R30 000 each, fraud case postponed to April

Six former Tongaat Hulett executives appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes court on February 10 on charges of fraud amounting to about R3.5-billion.

Appearing alongside the group was Gavin Kruger, a registered auditor and engagement partner at Deloitte and Touche who has been charged with the contravention of the Auditing Professions Act.

Kruger conducted Tongaat Hulett’s audit.

Former executives Peter Staude, Murray Munro, Michael Deighton, Rory Wilkinson, Kamasagrie Singh and Samantha Shukla also face charges of contravening the Financial Markets Act, Companies Act and Prevention of Organised Crime Act, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.

“We welcome this development in the legal process and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement authorities whenever required to ensure that those responsible are held accountable,” said Tongaat Hulett company secretary, Johann van Rooyen.

Forensic investigations revealed the accused partook in undesirable accounting practices which saw the company’s profits being overstated over a period of several years.

The company’s shares plummeted as a result.

They were each granted bail of R30 000, and the case was postponed to April 11.

Civil proceedings brought by the company against four former executives during 2020 are also under way.

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