Fraud accused Durban businessman Thoshan Panday. Picture: Independent Newspapers Archives
The Durban Magistrate’s Court has once again postponed the case against fraud accused businessman Thoshan Panday to October 4.
The matter involving the 52-year-old was postponed in his absence to allow the court to conduct an enquiry into his absence in court following reports that he was not well.
On Wednesday, the corruption accused did not appear in person for his matter due to reports that the head of Westville prison did not inform the court that Panday would not be attending court due to ill-health.
This was according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Henry Mamothame despite a medical certificate being produced by his legal representative and handed in to the record indicating that Panday is admitted in a private hospital in Durban.
“Magistrate Mr S Zuma deemed it befitting for the head of prison and the admitting doctor where he is allegedly kept for medical attention to be subpoenaed to account for his absence and for not informing the court and the state,” said Mamothame on Wednesday.
“Following the court’s dismissal of his bail application on 09 September 2024, the matter was postponed to 25 September 2024, for it to be transferred to the Durban High Court. The state requested for a further detention warrant to be issued to extend his detention in his absence,” he added.
According to IOL, Panday was arrested on September 5 on tax fraud allegations and subsequently denied bail a few days later.
Last year, the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and the Investigative Directorate (ID) conducted a search and seizure operation at Panday’s properties and some of his business associates.
This was after the ID and the AFU were granted yet another provisional restraint order amounting to R165 million against the assets of Panday and his ex- wife, former provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, and seven others.
At the time, “The Star” reported that Panday and his co-accused – Ngobeni; South African Police Service Colonel Navin Madhoe and former police captain Aswin Narainpershad – face charges of racketeering, fraud, corruption and money laundering.
Their provisional restraint order emanates from a series of acts of fraud, corruption, forgery, bribery and money-laundering before and after the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and resultant unlawful activities linked to the accused and their associates.
Following his arrest, he was denied bail on the grounds that he was a flight risk and had interfered with witnesses.
In total, the flamboyant businessman is facing 27 counts of fraud, alternatively contraventions of tax legislation which outlines false returns in respect of VAT and Annual Income Tax in which the South African Revenue Services was allegedly prejudiced an amount of R7,3 million.
The Star
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za
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