Apart from spurning a R2 million bribe, Hawks top cop Johan Booysen has also been forced to leave his home several times, after receiving death threats while heading a probe into a R60m police travel and accommodation scam.
The investigation has so far netted a senior police procurement officer, Colonel Navin Madhoe, 42, who was arrested during a sting operation.
Madhoe was arrested last Friday, shortly after allegedly putting R1.362m in bribe money in the boot of Booysen’s car – in exchange for a document containing sensitive information related to the investigation. The remainder of the money was allegedly to be paid later.
During Madhoe’s bail application at the Commercial Crimes Court in Durban on Friday, prosecutor Bheki Manyathi opposed bail, saying the suspended policeman would be a flight risk.
The State alleges that senior police officers colluded with Durban businessman Thoshan Panday to inflate travel and accommodation quotations by up to 400 percent. Opposing bail, the State produced an affidavit by investigating officer Colonel Leonard Sherriff, which fingers Madhoe as part of a syndicate involved in racketeering, corruption and procurement fraud which has cost the SAPS R60m.
In his affidavit, Sherriff said, “Threats have been made against the investigating officers and Booysen… from within this syndicate, of which Madhoe is a part”.
The investigation began during the soccer World Cup in June last year.
Sherriff said that subpoenas were received for certain bank accounts for information. Investigators had compiled a report, undated at the time, and handed it to Booysen, the Hawks’ provincial head.
Panday, one of the suspects mentioned in the report, brought an application in the Durban High Court for the subpoenas to be invalidated.
Sherriff said on August 25, Booysen was approached by Madhoe at the Elangeni Hotel and asked to date the report to a time before the subpoenas were received. Sherriff stated in his affidavit that predating the report would have meant the relevant bank accounts had been accessed illegally, scuppering the case.
According to Sherriff, Madhoe said predating the report would have helped get the subpoenas set aside.
“Agreement was… reached between Booysen and Madhoe that Booysen would predate the said report in exchange for R2m cash… R1.5m would be handed over on (receipt) of the predated report, R500 000 after the report was handed to Toshan (sic) Panday.”
A sting operation was set up last Friday and after Booysen had handed over the report, with Madhoe allegedly handing over the cash, Madhoe was arrested.
Sherriff said he believed Madhoe would interfere with state witnesses or state evidence, or defeat the ends of justice.
“Madhoe tried to have a police report predated so as to influence the outcome of a civil action currently before the High Court in Durban… this could have resulted in Section 205 subpoenaed evidence and the subsequently obtained evidence declared inadmissible,” Sherriff said.
The fact that Madhoe and Panday were willing to pay R1.362m for the report indicated to what lengths they were willing to go to influence witnesses and taint evidence, he said.
“The fact that Madhoe was able to get access to R1.362m in such a short period of time indicates that access to money is not a problem for him and the syndicate.”
After reading Sherriff’s affidavit, Manyathi told Magistrate Kim de Freitas that Booysen had, on some occasions, stayed away from his home after receiving threatening phone calls.
Madhoe’s attorney, Ravindra Maniklal, said his client, a father of two, suffered from a heart condition and had been on medication for some time.
He had no previous convictions, was emotionally tied to his family and community in Phoenix, and had surrendered his passport. Madhoe intended to plead not guilty.
Maniklal said the investigation had gone on for 15 months and while Madhoe’s house had been raided by investigators, he had not been charged or questioned.
Madhoe has been remanded until Thursday.
Booysen last week received praise for his honesty, on account of not having accepted the R1.362m. -Sunday Tribune