ANGELO Agrizzi’s lawyer says his client never misled the court about his overseas assets.
Mannie Witz, representing the former Bosasa chief operations officer, said this yesterday while making submissions to Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng of the South Gauteng High Court.
He said his client made transfers to offshore accounts with the knowledge of Sars and the Reserve Bank. The state’s case against Agrizzi was built on these assets.
The prosecution said Agrizzi lied about the assets and had more money in Italy than South Africa and planned to escape.
It was on this basis that he was denied bail by the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sitting in Palm Ridge.
READ: BEWARE OF WIDOWS IN INZILO
The defence said he’s not a flight risk and won’t apply for travel documents if given bail. Witz touched on Agrizzi’s poor health. After being denied bail, he spent a night in jail before being moved to hospital.
The state’s Arno Rossouw said while Agrizzi’s medical condition couldn’t be disputed, he lied about his overseas assets.
“We don’t have full disclosure from the accused. We don’t want a man with comorbidities to die in prison,” he said.
“We’ve got no interest in keeping him there if there’s another way to ensure he attends court until the case against him is finalised.”
Witz said Agrizzi’s condition remained critical and he was in ICU.
He told the media outside court: “His condition has deteriorated dramatically since he was sent to prison. He’s on three forms of life support including dialysis, and he’s continuing to receive treatment until he recovers.”
