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Willah Mudolo, one of Shepherd Bushiri’s co-defendants, was able to repay a loan of 8.2 million rand, taken out of the property that he intends to use as collateral if bail is granted, while it is in custody.
Mudolo appeared in Pretoria Magistrates Court on Monday for the continuation of his bail request, opposed by the state. Mudolo, his wife Zethu, the self-proclaimed prophet Bushiri and his wife Mary, and Landiwe Ntlokwana face multiple counts of fraud, theft and money laundering in connection with an investment scam that allegedly defrauded investors out of the amount of R102 million.
Bushiri and his wife have fled the country since then and returned to their homeland of Malawi after the Pretoria Magistrates Court granted them bail in November.
Mudolo, who is a citizen of Zambia, is the only defendant still in detention after his wife and Ntlokwana were successful in their requests for bail, which were heard at the same time as the Bushiri request.
ALSO READ: Co-defendant in Bushiri fraud case conspired to bribe court officials, police officer tells court
Mudolo previously told the court that the bond for his property in South Africa had been canceled and that he intended to pledge the premises as collateral for his bond.
Loan
However, one of the lead investigators in the case, who took the stand Monday to oppose the bail request, told the court that Mudolo had an outstanding loan of R8 248 404.88 that was taken out against the property.
The outstanding balance was paid in full while Mudolo, who was arrested on October 17, was incarcerated in Kgosi Mampuru Prison.
“This tells me that defendant number 1 [Mudolo] he has access to large amounts of funds even while incarcerated and therefore remains a high flight risk, ”the investigating officer told the court.
In an affidavit, the company that made the loan to Mudolo confirmed that the outstanding amount had been paid and also listed the dates when the payments were made by a company, of which Mudolo is a director.
After his arrest, large amounts were made, including a payment of R2 million, according to the affidavit.
Flight risk
The investigating officer also detailed evidence that Mudolo on three different occasions, shortly before his arrest, had visited the OR Tambo International Airport. These trips to the airport took place on October 13, 16 and 17 after Mudolo learned that he was being investigated.
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According to the investigating officer, Mudolo’s passport was scanned for a flight to Dubai. He then called Mudolo’s lawyers, who called Mudolo to tell him not to board the flight.
On October 16, Mudolo’s passport was scanned again for another flight to Dubai.
The Hawks later went to arrest Mudolo, but he had left the airport without boarding the flight, the court heard. A day later, his passport was scanned a third time, but he was arrested before he could board. His wife was arrested at their Sandhurst home the same day.
CCTV footage was also released as evidence that he captured Mudolo at the airport on the days his passport was scanned.
Passports
The investigating officer also testified that Mudolo had more than one passport, one of which had the wrong date of birth on file. This passport was allegedly used to register businesses, open bank accounts and to marry his wife, who is South African.
He had also used this passport to travel extensively in 2018, the court heard. It was recorded that this passport, and at least one other, was still in Mudolo’s possession.
The court also heard that Mudolo has property and a funded bank account in the UK, further reinforcing the state’s position that he was a high flight risk.
The court was told that Mudolo and his wife are accused of playing a crucial role in the alleged investment scam and that they can still be successfully prosecuted even without the Bushiris present in court.
This was in response to the defense, who said it is unknown how long the extradition process will take and if it will even be successful, which will hurt Mudolo, who will be held until the conclusion of the trial if bail is not granted.
It has also been alleged that Mudolo had access to cell phones while in detention, and that one of the phones was used to communicate with an unknown person who spoke of having contacts that could facilitate a court bribe. The request for bail was postponed until Tuesday, where the defense will question the investigating officer.
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