Durban - Corruption watchdog the Investigating Directorate (ID) says it is happy with a high court ruling which granted former Bosasa chief operating officer Angelo Agrizzi bail on Friday morning.
ID spokesperson Sindisiwe Twala said their main concern was that Agrizzi failed to disclose the true value of assets he owns in South Africa and abroad.
"We are happy that the court has ordered him to furnish the court with his Italian home title deed by November 10.
“He is also to provide to the State what he and his wife, Debbie Agrizzi, own.
“He must also hand over all his passports and failure to do so will result in him recommitted within 48 hours," she said.
Agrizzi was granted bail by the high court, overturning the decision of the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court to deny him bail two weeks ago.
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng on Friday ordered that Agrizzi be immediately released from custody upon the presentation of the court order to prison authorities.
Agrizzi was denied bail after magistrate Philip Venter of the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court ruled that he was a flight risk after he did not disclosed that he had moved millions into offshore bank accounts and that he had bought a house and a luxury car in Italy.
Reading his order of stringent bail conditions set for Agrizzi, Judge Mokgoatlheng said the criteria used by Venter was that no amount of bail paid by Agrizzi would make him stand his trial and if he opted to skip the country he would.
He said that the magistrate had missed a loophole of investigating whether indemnities, sureties or guarantees could be used to ensure that Agrizzi did not skip the country.
"That approach is wrong because there are many possible inferences from the facts of this case which can be drawn.
“It could be that if there are sufficient guarantees that are made that the appellant should pay them, to provide sureties or indemnities, they may be persuaded not to flee, they may be persuaded to stand trial.
“Consequently, therefore, this court finds that the magistrate did not fulfil his legal obligations in that he did not properly apply his discretion," Mokgoatlheng said.
Mokgoatlheng said the value of Agrizzi’s bail was equal to the full value of his property in the Tuscany town of Castel del Piano in central Italy at the time that the property was purchased.
Mokgoatlheng said Agrizzi’s bail would be automatically revoked and he would be remanded in custody within 48 hours of the breach of the bail conditions if he did not meet a slew of conditions by 4pm on November 10.
In the bail conditions, Agrizzi is expected to hand over the original property deed of the Castel del Piano property to the investigating officer Lieutenant-Colonel Bernardus Lazarus while he is also expected to furnish the NPA a signed guarantee secured by the Italian property.
Agrizzi is also ordered to give a full and frank disclosure of all foreign assets in his name or that of his wife Debbie including the nature, value, location and if applicable the account numbers or vehicle licence numbers to the NPA.
"The appellant is ordered further to undertake to inform the NPA of the relocation, including the transfer of funds to other accounts or of sale or disposal of any of the assets within 14 days prior to the relocation, sale or disposal of the assets," said Mokgoatlheng.
IOL