Four former Transnet executives accused of corruption and fraud in locomotive deal were each granted R50,000 bail in the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court on Monday.
Brian Molefe, Siyabonga Gama, Anoj Singh, and Thamsanqa Jiyane have been charged with fraud, corruption and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
Molefe and Gama handed themselves over to police earlier on Monday.
In court, Molefe’s legal team argued that the charges were a duplication of those in the Kuben Moodley case in which he is already indicted for more than R300m fraud and theft. They said their client's re-arrest amounted to the abuse of court processes.
Molefe said he could afford R20,000 bail, citing unemployment and health issues.
Singh’s team proposed R50,000 bail, stating that he had already surrendered his passports.
Gama said he could afford up to R200,000 in bail, while Jiyane, a KwaZulu-Natal-based farmer, said R100,000 was affordable.
The state had sought higher bail, noting the seriousness of the allegations and the R25bn in total that Transnet spent across three controversial contracts.
Magistrate Brian Nemavhidi granted them R50,000 bail each. The matter was postponed to October 6 for further investigation.
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