Following his first appearance this morning, the Bellville Commercial Crimes Court has postponed the case against Paul Mathew Hattingh, a former City of Cape Town employee who is accused of fraud, corruption, and money laundering, so that he can consult with his attorney.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the state alleges that Hattingh, who was a member of the Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC), hid his conflict of interest and recommended that a R49,9 million tender for supply and delivery of refuse black bags be awarded to C’Est Gyms.
In return, the company awarded the tender and paid R10,4 million into the bank account of his company, of which he was a sole director and had signing powers. He then used the money for his own benefit.
‘’The State further alleges that he benefited from these misrepresentations by more than R49 million, to the actual or potential prejudice of the City of Cape Town and/or other tenders and/or the public. He used his benefits for personal expenses, as there were, inter alia, 87 transactions to the value of over R 800 000 under the name of PM Hattingh, 39 cash withdrawals to the value of over R 2.2 million, and payments made to Mercedes Benz and McCarthy Toyota. Funds were also transferred to companies he had a relationship with, such as six transactions to Cosmic Gold 532 to the value of R216 000, 19 transactions to Park Boulevard Traders to the value of over R2 million, and five transactions to Titanc Trading to the value of R224 000. This constituted money laundering’’, said Ntabazalila.
Ntabazalila said Hattingh was been employed as an Administrative Officer for Supply Chain Management at the Ndabeni store since March 1, 2002. He was a storekeeper and technical adviser and knew who the City of Cape Town’s service providers were.
‘’On April 18, 2008, he bought Cosmic Gold Trading 517 from his son’s mother. This was a shelf company registered for general trading in all aspects. He was appointed a member of the City of Cape Town BEC in May 2009. The BEC’s role is to evaluate and provide the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC) with a recommendation on who ought to be awarded a tender by the City of Cape Town. The BAC then awards the tender to the successful party,’’ said Ntabazalila.
He said members of the BEC are required to sign a Conflict of Interest Declaration form in which the member declares any conflict of interest he/ she may have or has in respect of a tender being decided on.
‘’Hatting signed a conflict-of-Interest Declaration and Undertaking of Confidentiality, dated 16 September 2008 in his capacity as a member of the BEC where he declared that he does not have any direct or indirect interest in respect of any of the tenders or bidders for the tender, any financial interest (shares in companies, memberships in close corporations, partnerships, and directorships, etc.) in the tenders or bidders for the tender,’’ Ntabazalila said.
The case has been postponed to June 26 for him to consult with his lawyers. The State has furnished the defence with further particulars and a copy of the docket.