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Cheeky Watson pleads 'not guilty' to charges of fraud

Cape Town - Former Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU) president Cheeky Watson has pleaded 'not guilty' to charges of fraud and money laundering.

The trial got underway on Tuesday. 

According to the HeraldLIVE website, Watson says he was unaware of any fraudulent activities and that he did not know that anything was wrong when Nadia Gerwel, a former assistant director of accounting at the Nelson Mandela bay metro, transferred R2.9 million into the EPRU bank account. 

Another development from Tuesday was that a third charge, failure to report fraud, has been added to Watson's charge sheet.  

Watson, Gerwel, Andrea Wessels and Mandisi Mkasa are all accused of being involved in alleged fraudulent activities that amount to R12 million and centre around funds for Port Elizabeth's Integrated Public Transport System.

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