12 June 2009
A5001/2009 [2009]
ZAGPJHC 26
Santino
Publishers CC v Waylite Marketing CC
11 June 2009
A5021/08
[2009] ZAGPJHC 25
South
African Broadcasting Corporation Ltd and Another v Mpofu
8 June 2009
08/14641
[2009] ZAGPJHC 24
Tusevele v Van Der Merwe
Running
out of options - 3 June
If we didn't know better, we'd have to conclude that some in the
South African judiciary are hellbent on undermining the
credibility of their own institution. The South Gauteng High
Court's ruling that the Judicial Service Commission's (JSC's)
refusal to postpone its hearing into the Constitutional Court
judges' complaints against Western Cape Judge President John
Hlophe violated his right to a fair hearing was disturbing not
only because the bench was split - yet again - along racial lines,
but also because Hlophe's case was so obviously paper thin. - allAfrica
website
See
also :
1 June 2009
19006/09
[2009] ZAGPJHC 19
Hlophe v Judicial Service Commission and Others
South
Africa. Judicial Service Commission, and, Judiciary
Emfuleni
interdicted from polluting Vaal - 2 June
The Emfuleni municipality has been interdicted from spilling raw
sewage into the Vaal River by the high court in Johannesburg
today. The ruling came after SAVE, a non-governmental organisation
aimed at protecting the Vaal River and its environs, took the
municipality to court to stop it polluting the river, said SAVE
chairman Lotter Wepener in a statement. "During the past few
weeks, it came to SAVE's attention that the Emfuleni municipality
was, once gain, pumping raw sewage into the Vaal River Barrage
Reservoir. This was being done despite four previous court orders
prohibiting Emfuleni from continuing with its criminal conduct by
unlawfully polluting the Vaal River". According to SAVE,
Judge John Horn ordered the municipality to stop deliberately
dumping sewage into the Vaal River. - The
Times website
White
squatters triumph - 3 June
The people of a squatter camp for whites in Krugersdorp have given
the Mogale municipality a bloody nose in court by successfully
opposing an eviction order. The 225 mainly Afrikaner residents of
Coronation Caravan Park, near Krugersdorp Dam, on the West Rand,
were taken to court by the municipality. It wants to evict them to
make way for a park for the influx of soccer fans expected for
this month's Fifa Confederations Cup. Mogale municipality's urgent
application for an eviction order was dismissed by the South
Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg because the council had not
followed the correct procedures in its efforts to evict the
residents. The residents' lawyer, Naude de Klerk, told The
Times that their victory meant that the right to housing had
triumphed over "putting a television up for people to watch
soccer". - The
Times website
Warders
helped Mathe escape, judge rules - 4 June
Annanias Mathe, dubbed the Houdini of C-Max, was assisted by
prison warders in his initial attempt to escape from one of South
Africa's maximum security prisons. This was Judge Geraldine
Borchers's finding when she convicted Mathe for attempting to
escape from his cell at C-Max Prison on April 30, 2006. Mathe did
not deny that he wanted to escape from C-Max, but wanted the court
to believe that he did not plan to escape on the day he was
caught. On Wednesday, he was found guilty on eight other counts -
two of rape, and other charges of housebreaking and theft, and
killing five dogs. The case was postponed until Wednesday. - IOL
website
Call
to scrap 'greed fines' - 9 June
A lobby group known as Justice Project South Africa is protesting
against speeding fines issued by the Johannesburg metro police.
Yesterday, the group delivered a letter to the director of public
prosecutions at the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg,
calling for the withdrawal of all mobile-camera speeding fines,
which the group describes as "greed fines".
The founder of the organisation, Howard Dembovsky, claims to have
"caught the metro police with irrefutable evidence of
committing fraud". - The
Times website
Victory
for gang-rape survivor - 10 June
Shouts of joy rang out in the South Gauteng High Court,
Johannesburg, yesterday when seven men who gang-raped a woman four
years ago were convicted of the crime. Their 28-year-old victim,
known as Buyisiwe, had almost given up on justice after her case
was struck from the court roll, withdrawn and postponed more than
20 times. The rapists - Thabiso Thikwane, 20 ; Sello Mohlala, 20 ;
Oupa Mohlala, 19 ; Bongani Nhlapo, 18 ; Moeketsi Mputi, 19 and
Kabelo Mwale, 21 - spent their first night in jail when their bail
was revoked following their conviction. - The
Times website
School
sword-killing case postponed - 15 June
The sentencing of Krugersdorp schoolboy Morne Harmse for killing a
fellow pupil with a sword was postponed on Monday to August. The
High Court in Johannesburg postponed the case to August 31 after
the submission of a pre-sentencing report from social workers was
delayed. Harmse killed 16-year-old Jacques Pretorius with an
ornamental Samurai sword at the Nic Diederichs Technical High
School on the West Rand last August. - Mail
& Guardian website
Czech
lawyer probably returns to Prague from South Africa -
20 June
Public Czech Television (CT) reported earlier today that Czech
lawyer Julius Kramaric has allegedly been released from prison on
the basis of a South African court decision and that he is on his
way back to the Czech Republic. Kramaric will, however, have to
return to South Africa in November when the court will start to
deal with evidence in his case. Kramaric and his colleague went to
South Africa to attend businessman Radovan Krejci's court
hearing over the kidnapping and death of a Czech businessman. - Ceske
Noviny website
Agliotti
faces R29m lawsuit: report - 26 June
Brett Kebble murder accused Glen Agliotti is being sued for R29
million by the slain mining magnate's former companies, The
Star reports. But Agliotti, who is the Scorpions' main witness
against National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi, has hit back
at the mining companies' damages claims against him with
accusations that they knowingly gave him the money to conduct
numerous illegal activities. In papers before the Johannesburg
High Court, Agliotti has vehemently denied claims from the mining
company JCI Limited and its controversial subsidiary, Consolidated
Mining Management Services Limited, that he unlawfully
misappropriated money from them, the newspaper said. He instead
argues that agreements were concluded between himself, as a
representative of the Springs Lights 6 (Pty) Ltd and Misty
Mountains Trading Pty (Ltd) companies, and the JCI and the CCM, to
"facilitate payments of funds to be utilised for illegal
purposes". - The
Times website
Tannenbaum
Case (Ponzi
Scheme)
The
R10bn betrayal - 11 June
A massive international investment fraud, which has targeted
some of South Africa's wealthiest families, is fast unravelling
with estimates that up to R10-billion could be at stake. Also
targeted have been vulnerable elderly people who now face
destitution. The fraud is a Ponzi scheme similar to that
structured by jailed New York fraudster Bernie Madoff with the
money of new investors used to pay off initial investors. . .
All three are living in luxury : Tannenbaum in an upmarket
suburb in Sydney, Rees in Switzerland and Leigh in South Africa.
All are understood to have multiple homes. - IOL
website
Keyphrases :
Barry Tannenbaum
Darryl Leigh
Dean Rees
Eurochemicals (Pty) Ltd
Frankel Chemicals
Billions
lost in SA's largest 'Ponzi' scheme? - 10 June
Many South African and overseas investors will soon be realising
what many of them have probably been dreading for a while now,
namely that the Frankel Investment Scheme, into which billions
were poured, is nothing more or less than a vehicle designed to
defraud them. Whether this turns out to be a classic
"Ponzi", along the lines used by US fraudster and
financier Bernard Madoff or is more of a multilevel pyramid
scheme, only time will tell. - Article by Michael Trapido on the
Thought Leader
blog
S
Africa fraud worth up to $1.2 billion uncovered - 11
June
Hundreds of investors have been fleeced of up to 10 billion rand
($1.2 billion) in what could be South Africa's biggest corporate
fraud, a private investigator and lawyer said on Thursday. Barry
Tannenbaum, a South African businessman living in Australia,
lured investors with the promise of 200 percent annual returns
linked to pharmaceutical imports, and forged AIDS drug orders to
reassure funders when money started to dry up. The scheme is
still unravelling but lawyers and investigators believe hundreds
of investors including top businessmen from South Africa, the
United States, Germany and Australia, were involved, losing up
to 10 billion rand. - Reuters
website
Home-grown
Ponzi scheme bleeds the rich - 11 June
News has emerged of a homegrown Ponzi scheme that has taken
several high-net worth individuals for a ride. The scheme is
alleged to be run by Barry Tannenbaum, grandson of one of Adcock
Ingram's four founders, Hymie Tannenbaum. The scale of losses is
not yet clear, reports Financial Mail, but the debtors'
book officially stood at R1.76bn last Friday. - Moneyweb
website
Investment
scam - 12 June
. - Financial
Mail website
SA
Ponzi scheme uncovered : up to R215bn involved - 11
June
Interview with Warren Goldblatt : head, Specialised Services
Group, Felicity Duncan and David Shapiro on the Moneyweb
website
Swindle
suspect's SA estate is seized - 12 June
The personal estate in South Africa of Barry Tannenbaum, the
alleged mastermind of a massive international fraudulent
investment scheme that appears to have fleeced billions of rands
from about 400 investors, has been placed in provisional
sequestration. Criminal charges have been laid against
Tannenbaum. A provisional sequestration order for Tannenbaum's
estate was granted by Judge Makhanya in the South Gauteng High
Court last Friday. The application was brought by Christopher
Leppan. Some investors, who believe they got their money out of
the scheme in the nick of time, may be in for an unpleasant
surprise. In terms of the Insolvency Act,
investors who were paid out might be required to repay any
investment returns - and possibly even their initial investments
- to the trustee of Tannenbaum's sequestrated estate. - Business
Report website
Keyphrases :
Financial Intelligence Centre
RMB Private Bank
SAPS. Organised Crime Unit
South African Reserve Bank
Tannenbaum
on a tightrope - 12 June
A trustee for the South African estate of Barry Tannenbaum, who
allegedly operated a Ponzi scheme that cost investors billions,
will be appointed next week, Johannesburg attorney Ian Levitt
said on Friday. - IOL
website