Boshoff, Jordaan, Elsa, Bafana Nhlapho, his wife and son Sthembiso and Gillian, Jacoba du Preez, Petrus Uys and Janse van Vuuren face charges of fraud, theft, three counts of money laundering, and illegal mining among others. They are out on bail and their matter will return to court in November.
Their arrests follow a raid on Witkranz Farm in September 2023 at which police confiscated 270 tons of illicit coal valued at R264m, equipment, heavy machinery and vehicles valued at R2bn, the largest ever seizure by the state according to the NPA.
“The assets were seized on the basis that it was, on reasonable grounds to be believed, used as instrumentalities to commit various illegal large-scale coal mining and environmental offences at the farm in the Carolina area,” said NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa.
Jordaan's company, GNJ Mining, did not posses any mining licence but dug tons of coal from the farm and sold it to well-known big companies in SA and eSwatini. According to the law, all underground minerals belong to the state and a licence is required to mine them.
An indictment from the NPA, which cites the nine accused people and eight companies, shows how Jordaan allegedly used his companies and those belonging to his partners to run a well-organised network to allegedly steal, launder and distribute monies to the members of the syndicate. The document shows 467 transactions between various entities and personal bank accounts.
The NPA also alleges that Boshoff rushed to open bank accounts to launder money.
“All the business accounts belonging to the accused [Boshoff] were opened just prior to the commencement of the illegal mining activities and were duly opened to facilitate the money laundering of the proceeds of unlawful activities,” read the document.
The indictment shows that within two months of setting up Kwaaga Mining, in March 2023, Boshoff paid R1,7m into Jordaan's personal account in 28 transactions. Boshoff distributed the funds while Uys, a qualified accountant who holds a directorship at GNJ Mining and at Outeniqua Drilling, performed all the accounting duties for companies belonging to Jordaan, Elsa and Nhlapho.
Uys also faces a charge of fraud for allegedly assisting Jordaan steal R4m from the SA Revenue Service by submitting falsified tax and VAT documents on his behalf.
“Whereas in truth and in fact when the accused gave out and pretended as aforesaid, he knew that he had incorrectly and fraudulently prepared invoices and documentation on behalf of Jordaan and as a result of the submission, assisted Jordaan to receive returns that he was not entitled to,” read the court document.
The Nhlapho family, who owns Nhlapho Group of Companies, is accused of channeling millions of rand to Jordaan and other members of the syndicate through their personal bank accounts and that of their companies.
The money was concealed under the guise of “shareholders' loan” payments.
SowetanLIVE
Inside R246m illegal coal mining money flow
Namibian high court grants AFU preservation order to seize R52.5m
Image: SAPS
A businessman and his employee registered four companies and opened several bank accounts which were used in a R246m illicit coal syndicate to launder and move money.
The state alleges that Jacob Boshoff, once a lowly farm manager in Mpumalanga, opened bank accounts and registered a mining company, Kwagga Mining which would, in less than four months, be allegedly used to launder and distribute more than R1,7m proceeds of illicit coal mining.
His boss, Hossia Jordaan, the alleged central figure of scheme, registered three companies, GNJ Mining, Ngamia Pty, and Navidu Investments, a few months before the two-year-long illegal operation kicked off at Witkranz Farm in Carolina in May 2021. Jordaan owned the farm where Boshoff was once employed as a manager.
This week, the NPA's Asset Forfeiture Unit announced that it and its Namibian counterparts were granted preservation order by the Namibian high court to seize R52.5m held in eight bank accounts belonging to Jordaan and his wife Elsa. They both have SA and Namibian citizenships.
The freeze on the couple's bank accounts comes at the back of the rescue and arrest of over 1,000 illegal miners in Stilfontein, North West, where they had been raiding and feasting on gold crumbles left behind by companies who used to mine in that area.
According to the Mineral Council of SA, more than R20bn is lost to the country every year because of illicit mining and non-payment of taxes and royalties.
Boshoff, Jordaan, Elsa, Bafana Nhlapho, his wife and son Sthembiso and Gillian, Jacoba du Preez, Petrus Uys and Janse van Vuuren face charges of fraud, theft, three counts of money laundering, and illegal mining among others. They are out on bail and their matter will return to court in November.
Their arrests follow a raid on Witkranz Farm in September 2023 at which police confiscated 270 tons of illicit coal valued at R264m, equipment, heavy machinery and vehicles valued at R2bn, the largest ever seizure by the state according to the NPA.
“The assets were seized on the basis that it was, on reasonable grounds to be believed, used as instrumentalities to commit various illegal large-scale coal mining and environmental offences at the farm in the Carolina area,” said NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa.
Jordaan's company, GNJ Mining, did not posses any mining licence but dug tons of coal from the farm and sold it to well-known big companies in SA and eSwatini. According to the law, all underground minerals belong to the state and a licence is required to mine them.
An indictment from the NPA, which cites the nine accused people and eight companies, shows how Jordaan allegedly used his companies and those belonging to his partners to run a well-organised network to allegedly steal, launder and distribute monies to the members of the syndicate. The document shows 467 transactions between various entities and personal bank accounts.
The NPA also alleges that Boshoff rushed to open bank accounts to launder money.
“All the business accounts belonging to the accused [Boshoff] were opened just prior to the commencement of the illegal mining activities and were duly opened to facilitate the money laundering of the proceeds of unlawful activities,” read the document.
The indictment shows that within two months of setting up Kwaaga Mining, in March 2023, Boshoff paid R1,7m into Jordaan's personal account in 28 transactions. Boshoff distributed the funds while Uys, a qualified accountant who holds a directorship at GNJ Mining and at Outeniqua Drilling, performed all the accounting duties for companies belonging to Jordaan, Elsa and Nhlapho.
Uys also faces a charge of fraud for allegedly assisting Jordaan steal R4m from the SA Revenue Service by submitting falsified tax and VAT documents on his behalf.
“Whereas in truth and in fact when the accused gave out and pretended as aforesaid, he knew that he had incorrectly and fraudulently prepared invoices and documentation on behalf of Jordaan and as a result of the submission, assisted Jordaan to receive returns that he was not entitled to,” read the court document.
The Nhlapho family, who owns Nhlapho Group of Companies, is accused of channeling millions of rand to Jordaan and other members of the syndicate through their personal bank accounts and that of their companies.
The money was concealed under the guise of “shareholders' loan” payments.
SowetanLIVE
Unit seizes R52.5m linked to illegal coal mining
Rate of fatalities, injuries, diseases drops in the mining sector – Mantashe
Uncertainty over coal jobs ahead of elections
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos