Publications
Partners
Cape Town - The fraud and money laundering case involving former Eastern Province Rugby (EPRU) president Cheeky Watson has been postponed until October 13.
Watson and four other people - Nadia Gerwel, Steven Pistorius, Andrea Vessels and Mandisi Mkaza - were arrested in March this year following an ongoing investigation by the Hawks into money laundering and corruption of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) funds.
According to the Herald LIVE website, the accused appeared briefly in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court on Monday.
The accused, out on bail of R2 000 each, face charges of fraud and money laundering following a lengthy probe into alleged corrupt activities around the R208m meant for the city’s IPTS.
It's alleged that money was channelled through Access Management, who were the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium operators.
The matter could be set down for trial by June or July next year, the report further stated.
Watson earlier this year stepped down from his role as president of the EPRU.
It came after SA Rugby announced that the administration of the EPRU was set to be returned to local hands following a series of ground-breaking decisions at a special general meeting in Port Elizabeth.
The EPRU’s affairs had been placed into the administrative control of SA Rugby - at the union’s invitation - in April 2016 to help regularise the union’s affairs as it faced a number of financial challenges.
Under Watson as president, the EPRU plunged into a financial crisis in 2015, with the union unable to pay players’ salaries.
Watson had promised a R200m sponsorship for the Kings but this failed to materialise, with players forced to accept food vouchers following the non-payment of salaries.
SA Rugby was eventually forced to step in and take control of the union which was eventually liquidated.
