Seven oh two drivers eighteen minutes past three. Let's pick up then on a story that's been leading the news for much of today, the appearance of four former trans Net members in court charged with fraud and offences under the Public Finance Management Actors possible. I've missed on some of the charges as well, but the names are well known. They have come up in various newspaper reports, various investigations by Gupta leaks and others, and of course at the
Zondor Commission. Brian Mulifa, Siabonga Gama, Anaj Singh and Tom sank Giani the four people appearing. Our EWN reporter colleague Alfa Ramashwana was there and joins us now Alpha, very good afternoon to you. Bell was asked for Bell was granted. Update us on the details of that.
Please good afternoon, John, Yes, and Brian relief. It's some song like Kan and anod Sting, all of who were executives that Transnet appeared at the Palmaries Magistrate's quote today. They were arrested earlier this morning and appeared on the same day and they were granted bail off about fifty thousand rand in just for context about the contract and
the allegations here John. In twenty fifteen, according to the State, a transaction advisory contract for one thousand and sixty four locomotives was awarded to a company called JP Morgan, but that's awarding of that contract was canceled and reversed and instead awarded to a company linked to the Gupta family.
And a few months later a ninety three million Rand payment was made to that company that was award that is linked to the Groupta family, and another seventy four million Rand left that company's account, it's understood to one of the accounts of the people in the Gupta family and the state is this is direct money laundering. It's
an abuse of the state state funds. And you remember that all of these people are also facing similar charges in a separate corruption case that has to do with LOCOMOTIVESA Brian Mulief, Tamsung Machiani or are not sing as well? Are not you to the court room and they're going to face trial on the separate case next year in February, which is in a way linked to this one here today. So this is two separate cases, two separate locomotive cases, but are linked in a way.
Yeah, it gets fairly complicated in the arguments for bail. I mean, how do any sense of how the judge arrived at fifty thousand rand per person, because certainly the amounts of money involved and the little bits I heard of the Effi Davids did suggest that that in general, at least some of these men or men of means.
Yeah. So there was a big, quite lengthy argument in court today. The state was saying that it wanted them to be given a bail of two hundred thousand rands
looking at the corruption cases that they are facing. The money that is involved as well, millions of rands was allegedly siphoned to the companies linked to the the family, and the state was making this argument in court to say, while these men are arguing that they can't afford two hundred thousand rand, if we look at their case and the kind of allegations that they are dealing with, and the fact that it's a charge five kings that they are facing here, they need to be given two hundred
thousand rand Baylor. But these states then gave them fifty thousand rand each. We heard Prime mule So, who's a member of parliament for the Umkontosus a party telling the court that he earns about forty four thousand rand per month and was telling the court that he could only afford twenty thousand rand bail, but they judge that took it to fifty thousand rand, and he says it's because they were awarded bail on a separate case, the case that I'm talking about, which the trial is set to
start in place next year. They were awarded fifty thousand rand bail there, so they are going to be given the same amount here. And because they've been adhering to their bail conditions and that other separate case, there are no reasons to believe that they will be flight this time around. So the bail conditions are more or less the same with the previous case. The amount is also the same with the case that with their first case that has to do with trans Net locomotives as well.
Thanks very much, Alpha Ramo Schwana. Keeping on that court case. More analysis on the matters behind what's turned up in court and what will be heard doubtless once the case gets underway. When it gets underway, because invariably there's a string of postponements before we get to the real business end of the matter. But we'll talk about that again after five o'clock twenty three minutes past three