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The former CFO of Crime Intelligence has been convicted.
- Former CFO of Criminal Intelligence Solly Lazarus has been sentenced to 10 years for corruption.
- He was convicted of using the secret service account to buy vehicles for himself and his relatives.
- Lázaro faces similar charges in a separate matter, which has yet to be tried.
Solly Lazarus, a disgraced former chief financial officer (CFO) of criminal intelligence, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for corruption.
Lazaro appeared in Pretoria Regional Court on Wednesday to be sentenced in a matter dating back to 2011.
Lazaro, head of the Secret Service Account (SSA), was convicted in 2019 of corruption for a sum of more than 200,000 rand.
The spokesperson for the National Prosecution Authority’s Investigative Directorate (ID), Sindisiwe Twala, said the court found that Lazarus was involved in the acquisition of motor vehicles for criminal intelligence from Atlantis Motors Pty Ltd.
READ | Zondo Commission: Here are the vehicles allegedly bought with state funds and used by former intelligence chief Mdluli and his relatives.
The vehicles were acquired using a criminal intelligence front company, called Universal Technical Enterprises CC (UTE).
However, Lázaro obtained the benefits of these purchases between 2006 and 2011 by using money that belonged to the state.
He bought the vehicles for himself and his family.
The conviction and subsequent sentence was based on the following rewards:
- R55,000 used to buy a Kia Picanto for her daughter.
- R27 432.29 used to buy a Honda CBR motorcycle for your child.
- R116 313.58 used to buy a Nissan Murano 3.5I v6 4X4 CVT vehicle for him.
- R39 193.78 used to buy a Honda ATV motorcycle, also for him.
In total, Lazarus spent R237 939.65 on these purchases, using state money.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Adriaan Bekker said that corruption by members of the police could not be tolerated.
The head of the ID, defender Hermione Cronje, welcomed the sentence.
“Today, on the International Day Against Corruption, we are pleased to have our first conviction and sentence since the beginning of the identification,” Cronje said.
Charges
Lazarus faces a series of similar charges in another matter, along with his co-defendant, former criminal intelligence chief Richard Mdluli, and former supply chain manager Heine Barnard.
All three are accused of looting the Secret Service Account, and Mdluli allegedly made sure that various members of his family were designated as agents.
READ | Richard Mdluli, former chief of criminal intelligence, sentenced to 5 years in prison for kidnapping and assault
The 74-page indictment exposed the NPA’s case against the three men, who have been charged with multiple counts of corruption and fraud.
The indictment details the use of the secret bribery fund to pay for international travel and the purchase of vehicles.
Mdluli, Lazarus, and Barnard also allegedly played a role in using the witness protection houses for private use, while Mdluli even allegedly got the state to rent out their personal property, which was paid for by the bribery fund.
- Mdluli has been charged with three counts of corruption, two counts of fraud and one count of theft.
- Barnard has been charged with three counts of corruption, one count of defeating the ends of justice and two counts of fraud.
- Lázaro has been charged with three counts of corruption, five counts of fraud and one count of theft.
This case is finally nearing a trial stage after years of delays caused by document declassification issues and alleged interference.
The matter will return to court in February 2021.
