The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has downplayed the Special Tribunal ruling forcing it to return two Aston Martins, two Ferraris, and a Rolls-Royce seized during a simultaneous raid in alleged R2 billion Tembisa Hospital looting kingpin Hangwani Maumela’s luxury property in Sandton and a Mpumalanga luxury car dealership.

Last Friday, former Special Tribunal president Judge Margaret Victor ordered that the five supercars – two 2023 model Aston Martins, a 2021 Ferrari 812, a 2018 Ferrari 488GTB and a 2023 Rolls-Royce  – be released to the Mpumalanga dealership Omar’s Motor Den, subject to the conditions.

The vehicles were among assets worth nearly R900m seized following raids in Sandhurst and Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, in October last year after an interim order issued by the tribunal to preserve the assets allegedly unlawfully and irregularly paid out by Tembisa Hospital.

In her judgment, Judge Victor said the release of the vehicles is subject to Omar’s Motor Den putting up security to the satisfaction of the curator bonis and the security shall be the equivalent of each vehicle’s market value.

“The market value of the vehicles shall be determined by an independent third party appointed by the curator bonis in order to calculate the amount of security to be put up,” reads the judgment.

It added that in the event that Omar’s Motor Den wishes to sell any of the vehicles, the curator bonis must first agree to such intended sale based on factors such as purchase price, the details of the person or entity, and to whom the vehicle will be sold.

The security shall remain in place and shall only be released or adjusted by an order of the tribunal and Omar’s Motor Den must insure the vehicles to the satisfaction of the curator bonis.

Omar’s Motor Den had approached the tribunal to urge it to carefully examine the seizure of the luxury vehicles as the SIU did not disclose that there were eNaTIS (electronic national administration traffic information system) certificates in the unit’s possession at the time, which showed the dealership was the owner.

The SIU stated that preserving the vehicles was necessary as the transactions transferring ownership to Omar’s Motor Den are suspect.

In addition, the purported transfer of a company owned by a sister of Maumela was not valid since she, as the director, had no knowledge of the purchase of the vehicles nor the transfer of neither ownership nor payments into her company’s bank account. The SIU said some of the vehicles were never registered in the name of the sister’s company.

One Aston Martin was allegedly purchased in October 2023 from the sister’s company for R2.5m, and that Omar’s Motor Den did all the necessary checks and then effected payment of that amount into the firm’s bank account and the vehicle was then registered in the dealership’s name on eNaTIS in the same month.

The SIU’s probe found that the vehicle was never registered in the name of the sister’s company and was previously registered in the name of another supercar dealership that issued a tax invoice of over R5m to the Hangwani Morgan Maumela (MHR) Family Trust for the same vehicle that was then sold for R2.5m. According to the SIU, this substantial discount raises concerns.

Another Aston Martin was bought from the sister’s company for R4m in July last year but its original purchase price was R6m, rendering the alleged sale price of R4m irrational.

The Rolls-Royce bought from Rolls-Royce Cullinan in April last year for R10.6m when transactions accessed by the SIU showed that Maumela or the MHR Family Trust had paid about R16.7m for it and the sister’s company was never its registered owner and that her brother, Maumela, controlled her company’s bank account and that the discounted sale price raised concerns. One of the Ferraris was purchased for nearly R8.4m in November 2020 and Omar’s Motor Den bought it for R6.8m.

The second Ferrari was bought by the dealership in March last year for R3.7m. However, the SIU maintains it was in fact purchased by Maumela for just over R6.41m in September 2018 and sold at the much reduced price in May last year to Omar’s Motor Den.

In total, the SIU investigation found that a total of 26 high-value motor vehicles with a cumulative value of almost R207m were bought by members of what it has described as the Maumela Syndicate with the proceeds of unlawful activities.

Additionally, the unit stated that Maumela was the kingpin in the syndicate and registered the vehicles to proxies or linked parties in order to conceal the true ownership.

On Saturday, SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the ruling did not affect the unit’s mandate but instead reaffirms its mandate to recover.

“The purpose of preservation orders is to ensure that, when the main proceedings take effect, the State has in its possession assets to recover the losses it has suffered.

“While Omar’s Motor Den has been granted the temporary return of two Aston Martins, two Ferraris, and a Rolls-Royce, this is strictly conditional,” he said.

Kganyago said the fact that the dealership is required to provide security equivalent to the full market value of each vehicle, and the cars or their value remain under the control of the curator bonis means that the SIU has not forfeited the value of the vehicles.

“The preservation order continues to protect the assets while investigations into the Maumela syndicate and related procurement irregularities at Tembisa Hospital proceed. The tribunal itself emphasised that ownership questions remain unresolved and that suspicions surrounding the discounted transactions will be tested in the main proceedings,” he explained.

Kganyago added that the SIU’s next course of action is to continue its investigation and pursue the main forfeiture proceedings.

“The preservation order remains in place, and the vehicles’ value is safeguarded for the state pending final determination. The vehicles have not been lost to the SIU; their value is secured, and the investigation continues,” he explained.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za

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