Overview
- The NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit secured a High Court preservation order on Friday that freezes a luxury R6 million property investigators link to Judge Portia Phahlane.
- Prosecutors say the property was bought with proceeds of alleged corruption, fraud and money laundering and that their evidence includes bank records, electronic communications and witness statements.
- Phahlane, who is out on bail and faces an allegation she accepted a R2 million bribe in a church succession dispute, is one of six people tied to a case before the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
- Reporting differs on the asset’s exact location, with some accounts identifying a Hurlingham property in Johannesburg and others naming a Hartbeespoort residence, a discrepancy the NPA’s papers or court filings are expected to clarify.
- The preservation order prevents any sale, transfer or dealing in the house while prosecutors prepare formal forfeiture proceedings and prosecutors have warned further legal steps and possible additional arrests may follow.