Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane and her husband S'bu have failed in their bid to overturn a R70 million restraint order on their assets, the Mercury newspaper reported.

The order had been granted against the Mpisanes last year and was initially for R140m.

This was ultimately reduced to R70m. According to the report Judge Sharmaine Bolton had rejected Mpisane's argument that material information not provided to the court would have impacted on its original decision to grant the restraint order.

She also rejected their argument that it was necessary for reasonable prospects for conviction for such an order to be granted.

Mpisane faces 53 charges of fraud, forgery and uttering of a forged document.

Mpisane, who is out on R100,000 bail, is accused of submitting forged documents to obtain Construction Industry Development Board gradings which were then used to win five public works department tenders worth R140m.

In two separate cases she is charged with interfering with a witness and inflating invoices by R4.7m in a bid to cut her tax bill.