ANC's John Block found guilty of fraud
Sentencing of convicted fraudster and Northern Cape ANC chairperson John Block and property company CEO Christo Scholtz will begin in January next year.
After they were found guilty by the Northern Cape High Court on Wednesday, their bail was increased from R50 000 to R100 000, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said in a statement.
Judge Mathebe Phatsoane found Block and his company, Chisane Investments, guilty of fraud and money laundering.
Christo Scholtz and the Trifecta Group, of which he was CEO, were each found guilty on two counts of corruption and two of money laundering.
Northern Cape ANC deputy secretary and co-operative governance MEC Alvin Botes and his company Itile Supply Services were found not guilty on all charges.
Block received cash, renovations to his Upington guest house, and shares in one of Trifecta’s subsidiaries from Scholtz and his deceased co-director Sarel Breda. This was in exchange for ensuring that Trifecta was awarded leases from government departments.
Scholtz and Trifecta were found guilty of making corrupt payments to deceased former ANC MP Yolanda Botha. She was paid shares, cash, and had renovations done to her house.
Botha, who was chairperson of Parliament's social development portfolio committee, died in December 2014 after skin cancer she developed spread to her brain.
The NPA welcomed the judgment.
(File photo: Gallo Images)