WATCH | Carrim says he paid Maumela out of fear but denies money laundering claim

North West businessman Suliman Carrim has admitted that Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala used him as a middleman when he needed to pay Morgan Maumela.

Carrim revealed this in his testimony to the Madlanga commission on Monday, saying in June 2024, Matlala approached him and asked him to invest in his Medicare24 company so that he could implement the R360m tender he had scored with the SA Police Service.

He said he then invested R10m and was promised R20m after three years.

The first payment he received was in February 2025 when Matlala transferred R1.75m to him.

Carrim said Matlala then asked him to advance R750,000 to Maumela.

“Mr Matlala put a lot of pressure [on me]. He wanted me to pay R750,000 and [he] told me that more invoices were coming.

Yes, I made a bad choice...and at no point did I want to be part of it.” — Suliman Carrim

“He promised me that in the next payment, he will give me a top-up.

“He kept on insisting, and he was adamant,” he said.

Carrim said the pressure did not come only from Matlala, as Maumela also called to ask when he would get the money.

“They both kept putting pressure on me,” Carrim said.

He testified that he made the payment because of media reports about Maumela and Matlala being linked to the investigation into the murder of Babita Deokaran, the Gauteng health department official who was assassinated after blowing the whistle on tenders worth R2bn that were irregularly awarded to Tembisa Hospital.

“Yes, I am a businessman, yes, I have a family, and yes, I have people to protect. I have kids and at that moment in time, I didn’t know whether these rumours were true or not,” he said.

Maumela has been identified as a central figure in a corruption syndicate linked to fraudulent contracts at Tembisa Hospital and other provincial health departments.

Cross-examined by evidence leader Adv Matthew Chaskalson, Carrim conceded that he made the payment because he was “afraid”.

“So, you’re saying now that in addition to [Matlala] asking [for Maumela to be paid], you also had misgivings that media reports were true and you may need to say yes to protect yourself and your family?”

“Yes,” Carrim responded.

Chaskalson put it to Carrim that evidence before the commission suggests that the three of them were engaged in money laundering.

Carrim, however, disagreed.

“Counsellor, I had not done this with the intention to commit any fraud; I just got caught in a web of people. I was doing business as a businessperson.

“I looked at the opportunity, I saw these opportunities and I took them.

“Yes, I made a bad choice... and at no point did I want to be part of it. I did not want to be part of or promote any of these [allegations] that you are raising.

“For me, these were business transactions; I went into business and I thought I was doing business with honourable people,” he said.

The police awarded Medicare24 a R360m tender in June 2024 to conduct health risk assessments for recruits and police employees.

The tender was cancelled in May 2025 after suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu ordered a forensic investigation into the process followed when it was awarded.