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By Sihle Mlambo, Baldwin Ndaba 
13h ago
Johannesburg – Former Bosasa executive Angelo Agrizzi, accused of corruption, has been denied bail in Palm Ridge Magistrates Court.
Magistrate Philip Venter, reading a lengthy bail sentence Wednesday afternoon, agreed with prosecutors and the investigating officer in the matter that Agrizzi had a serious flight risk.
Agrizzi’s medical condition could not persuade Venter to grant him bail. He had missed the first appearance when his co-defendant, former ANC MP Vincent Smith appeared in the same court weeks ago.
Agrizzi was seen in court with a small oxygen device.
He was denied bail after the state made statements to the court, that Agrizzi did not disclose that he had made several investments in Italy, including the purchase of a house, a luxury car and that he had more than € 700,000 ( around R13.5 million) in cash in offshore accounts.
Agrizzi also had a large sum of money in cryptocurrencies, the state said.
State Attorney Adv Arno Rossouw read an affidavit from Lt. Col. Lazarus, who said his investigation found that in March, Agrizzi had moved large amounts of cash to foreign accounts since December 2018, including acquiring property abroad. .
The court heard that the last amount that was moved was an amount of R30m that was deposited into a foreign account of his wife on March 20 this year.
The state insisted that Agrizzi planned to flee the country and live an expensive lifestyle abroad.
During the bail judgment, Venter said Agrizzi had two opportunities to disclose his overseas investments, first to the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court and the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court.
It did not, and this, the magistrate said, showed that it chose to keep it secret even though the assets were bought and transferred legally with the knowledge of the local tax services.
“In fact, there is nothing wrong with foreign investment. All have been legally acquired through acquaintance with income services.
“The problem is why hide it? Why not reveal it up front? ”Venter said, adding that Agrizzi had at least two opportunities to disclose his investments.
Venter cited the issue of the Gupta brothers who fled South Africa and agreed with the state that if Agrizzi fled the country, it would be a costly and lengthy experience to attempt to extradite him.
He also said that even though Internal Affairs and Customs could be notified for ref-flag Agrizzi, it was possible that he could escape the country through the country’s porous borders and with enough cash in his hands.
“I cannot wear blinders, it would be naive to deny that our borders are porous. Even without a passport, with enough money in hand, you can guarantee a safe crossing to one of our neighboring countries, from there, to any other place (Italy).
“Of all those considered, I am pleased that Mr. Agrizzi has the financial means to establish and maintain a comfortable lifestyle elsewhere should he decide to escape.
“Can these fears be addressed in a less invasive way? If Mr. Agrizzi wants to run away, no bail conditions will keep him here, even if his name is posted at Customs. That will mean trying to get out of a controlled border post, ”Venter said.
“His request for bail is rejected,” he said.
Meanwhile, Investigative Directorate spokesperson Sindisiwe Twala said that Agrizzi had previously disclosed that he and his wife only owned R2.6m in movable property and R14m in real estate.
In February 2019, the ID found that Agrizzis owned R35 million in movable assets, including art, jewelry and furniture.
The identification also found that the real property that he claimed he could not afford to lose was owned by Agrizzi Family Trust and was being used as collateral for loans made to Agrizzi in his personal capacity by ABSA.
“As of January 24, 2019, he owed ABSA R7 953 939.52 and has not made any additional loan payments since February 1, 2019. The trust recently attempted to auction the property to pay ABSA.
“While he told the court that he was a South African citizen with strong emotional ties to the Republic of South Africa, he did not reveal that he also had strong ties to Italy.
“He could not deliver his Italian passport to the court, claiming that he had lost it. More importantly, he did not reveal that between December 11, 2018 and January 19, 2019, before and while appearing before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry on the state capture, he transferred R11.98 million and his wife transferred R11.99 millions to overseas accounts, “said Twala.
He said Italian authorities had confirmed that Agrizzi opened bank accounts in Italy to which the funds settled in South Africa were transferred.
“On March 5, 2019, Agrizzi bought real estate / property in Castel Del Piano in Italy for € 880,000.00 (approximately R17m), as well as a luxury vehicle.
“A bank account in the name of Agrizzi’s wife has a balance of 714,419.50 euros (about R13 million). The Asset Forfeiture Unit is taking steps to seize Italian assets.
“The ID has worked closely with its partners, SARS, SARB’s Surveillance Division (FinServ), and the Hawks on the matter,” Twala said.
The matter was postponed to December 3, 2020.
MESS
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