The National Prosecuting Authority NPA has won a preservation order on R32 million worth of assets belonging to Ace Magashule and others in the asbestos corruption case.
The Free State high court granted the order on Wednesday 14 May, according to NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga.
R32m in assets frozen in Ace Magashules asbestos caseMhaga said the seized assets are believed to be the proceeds of crime, including theft, fraud, corruption and money laundering .
One of the assets is a top-end Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG, whose owner allegedly purchased it in cash for R2 million.
The funds allegedly emanated from the Free State Department of Human Settlements FSDHS, which awarded a R255 million tender to businessman Edwin Sodis Blackhead Consulting and the late Igo Mpambanis Diamond Hill Trading in 2014.
FSDHS contracted the two companies to remove harmful asbestos roofing from 300,000 houses in Free State townships. However, they allegedly spent just R21 million on the project.
"The involved individuals, companies and trusts are alleged to have engaged in a complex web of financial flows, designed to strip the FSDHS of its much-needed resources, Mhaga said.
"They were allegedly able to move the proceeds of crime through attorneys, real estate agencies and high-end motor dealers."
Through financial flows, the NPAs Asset Forfeiture Unit AFU demonstrated that these properties were purchased with monies siphoned from the FSDHS, Mhaga added.
This preservation order follows a Restraint Order of R300 million granted to the Unit by the high court in September 2020. This was in respect of the same asbestos corruption and money laundering scheme, he said.