Maumela bid stalls sale of R70m mansion
The prosecuting authority says it is expediting its response to the businessman’s rescission application, three months after a court ordered the forfeiture of R325m in assets.
The NPA told the Sunday Times that it had received a rescission application from Maumela’s legal representatives last Friday.
We will be expediting our response and any further processes to ensure that this application is concluded,
NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said.
The NPA had successfully argued in court that the assets were the proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the alleged R2bn looting of Tembisa Hospital.
The forfeiture followed an investigation stemming from a report by whistleblower Babita Deokaran, who had flagged suspicious payments at the hospital.
In July this year, the NPA said Maumela’s forfeited properties would be put up for sale, with proceeds returned to the Gauteng department of health.
The Sunday Times had asked the NPA why the assets, including the Sandton mansion, had still not been put up for sale three months later.
Kganyago said that shortly after the granting of the forfeiture application, “we were engaged by legal representatives for Maumela. They indicated an intention to appeal or to apply for a rescission.”
The multi-storey mansion in Sandhurst has 10 bedrooms, a car wash and a salon.
Other Maumela properties covered by the R325m forfeiture order include an R88m mansion in Bantry Bay, Cape Town, and a property at Zimbali Estate in KwaZulu-Natal.
Luxury vehicles, including four Lamborghinis and a Bentley, as well as a boat and trailer, were among the assets subject to forfeiture.