Any property or assets once owned by convicted perlemoen kingpin Morne Blignault will go under the hammer after the Gqeberha high court granted an order to allow the auctioning off of the ill-gotten gains.
The Asset Forfeiture Unit was dealt a heavy blow on Tuesday after the Gqeberha high court discharged a provisional restraint order against properties owned by various entities linked to a host of businesspeople embroiled in a multimillion-rand fraud and racketeering case.
Not only brothers in name, they were also brothers in arms in business in an alleged “well-oiled” machine set up to pilfer millions of rand meant to be used for the Bay’s beleaguered Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS).
Details of how fraud and corruption accused Zandisile Qupe was paid nearly R3m to act as a “political influencer” while he was a leader of the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay emerged in court on Thursday as the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) applied to have his luxury family home forfeited to the state.
Convicted perlemoen poaching kingpin Morne Blignault was back in the Gqeberha high court on Thursday in an attempt to prevent the Asset Forfeiture Unit from confiscating assets believed to have been gained through his illegal enterprise.