THE Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Rustenburg, North West, remanded the case against Zambian national Evan Mutale (44) and Dineo Precious Powane to Tuesday, 26 September, for Powane to appear in court following her absence on Thursday, 31 August.
Her attorney indicated in court that she sent him a medical certificate dated Wednesday, 30 August, booking her off until Friday, 1 September.
According to the provincial National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Henry Mamothame, the state applied for a warrant for her arrest, pending her appearance in court on the set date.
"Failure to appear will result in her arrest and an automatic forfeiture of her bail money. The state argued that she informed her attorney about her ill health on Monday, 28 August, but only decided to consult a doctor a day before the resumption of the trial. This the state views as a delay tactic to avoid a speedy completion of the trial," Mamothame said.
Dineo is facing charges of money laundering, while Evan is facing 49 charges of fraud and one of money laundering after his arrest by the SAPS Provincial Commercial Crime Unit on 12 April 2023 in Rustenberg.
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He was charged with stealing more than R5 million from Jaira Constructions and Projects, where he was an accountant responsible for managing accounts, payroll, and loading payments.
Dineo was granted R3 000 bail, while Evan is out on R10 000 bail.
"It is alleged that between September 2019 and November 2020, Mutale fraudulently transferred money into an account belonging to Powane, who has no links to the company but is known to him. These transactions were allegedly done under the pretence of paying a service provider for services rendered to the company," Mamothame said.
"In the process, he deceived his supervisor to make final authorisations for money to be transferred into Powane's bank account. Investigations revealed that some of this money was later transferred to his bank account and, as such, contributed to the state charging him with money laundering."
The Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West, Dr Rachel Makhari, expressed her concern over the delays, as they create an unnecessary backlog in court matters.
