The Durban High Court has postponed the fraud case involving Peter Staude, Murray Hector Munro, Michael Edward Deighton, Rory Edward Wilkinson, Kamasagrie Singh, Samantha Shukla and Gavin Dykes Kruger to 18 March 2027 for a pre-trial conference.
The accused face charges of fraud amounting to approximately R3.5 billion, as well as contravening the Financial Markets Act, the Companies Act and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).
Kruger is also charged with contravening the Auditing Professions Act.
Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL), which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has several subsidiaries, one of which is Tongaat Hulett Developments (THD).
THD was a property development company based in KwaZulu-Natal that facilitated investment in the region through land conversion activities across a variety of sectors. A major portion of THD’s business involved the sale of land to prospective buyers for development. Sales of land undertaken by THD would ultimately be reflected as revenue in the Consolidated Annual Financial Statements of THL.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said: “It is alleged that between March 2015 and September 2018 the accused acted in common purpose to misrepresent to THL, its employees, creditors, shareholders, etc. that the revenue derived from land sales was the correct value, correctly reflected in the financial reports when in fact they had allegedly backdated sale agreements. This resulted in incorrect profits being declared and the managers receiving substantial bonuses.”
The matter was in court for a pre-trial conference; however, the state requested a postponement to apply for a fresh racketeering certificate in respect of Kruger.
Ramkisson-Kara said: “The state advised the court that a panel has been arranged for the National Director of Public Prosecutions to hear the application between the 06 to 09 October 2026. The case was thus postponed to 18 March 2027 for a pre-trial conference. The accused will remain out on bail.”
