Brown expected in court

Published Jan 30, 2013

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Johannesburg - The trial of former Fidentia boss Joseph Arthur Brown continues in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday.

Brown faces four counts of fraud, two of corruption, two of theft, and one of money-laundering.

He was arrested in 2007 in one of the biggest financial scandals South Africa has ever seen.

The state alleges Brown ran a pyramid scheme and used investors' funds for his personal gain.

The biggest chunk of money that went missing from Fidentia was over R1-billion from the Living Hands Umbrella Trust, formerly the Mantadia Asset Trust Company (Matco).

The trust paid money from the mineworkers' provident fund to the widows and orphans of workers killed in mine accidents.

Brown is also accused of soliciting a R200-million investment from the state-owned Transport, Education and Training Authority (Teta) by giving Teta CEO Piet Bothma a R6-million bribe.

On Tuesday, Brown made additional admissions in the case, and an amended admissions document was submitted to court.

The information that Brown conceded related to the entities Fundi Projects, Antheru Trust, Teta and Matco.

The admissions involving these entities relate largely to movement of money between Fidentia Holdings' bank accounts and that of its clients or service providers. - Sapa

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