Business mogul Sandile Majali was found dead at the Sandton Quatermain Hotel on Sunday, Moneyweb website reported.
According to the reports, his lawyer John Ncebetsha, said the cause of his death was unknown.
Majali's family were preparing a statement while coming to terms with their loss, Ncebetsha said.
Majali, who was said to be in financial trouble, is best known for the controversial transfer of some R11 million which belonged to PetroSA to buy oil, to the ANC for its 2004 election campaign.
He also appeared in court this year, for “hijacking” a company, Kalahari Resources.
Majali along with three other men were expected to go on trial in the Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court to face charges of fraud.
They allegedly removed Kalahari Resources' two directors, Brian Amos Mashile and his sister Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, from the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) database.
The two siblings had to bring an urgent interdict before the High Court in Johannesburg to get themselves reinstated as directors of the company.
Kalahari Resources owns a 40 percent stake in Kalagadi Manganese, the mining company developing an R11 billion Northern Cape manganese mine
. - Sapa