The case of the South African Multi-Millionaire Metro Cop, and his wife
7th of February 2013
In SA you can steal as much as you want to, but don’t steal from the government……Because the Tax Man hates the competition.
I mean, if you are going to steal money, then you must steal clever. Don’t steal like an idiot.
One of the elementary points of stealing money is not to get caught. You don’t steal a million and then tell everybody you stole a million. You will end up in jail. Even the simplest minds can figure that out.
The golden rule of stealing is to keep on living as you did before. If you suddenly pull up at work with a Ferrari, wear a Rolex... then people are going to start questions. Worse...they are going to get jealous.
Now picture this: If you are a simple Metro cop on a meager salary of R15,000 a month and you pull up with a Rolls Royce Phantom, a Rolls Royce Ghost, a Maserati GranCabrio, a Ferrari Scaglietti, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo and a Porche Panamera Turbo, two armoured BMW 5 series, Two Lamborghinis and two Hummers…to name a few…then you have got to be farking STOOPID.Pictures Here
…But that is exactly what Sibusiso Mpisane the (former) speedcop from Durban did. A fleet of 30 luxury cars and a house worth R80 million in La Lucia on a salary of R15,000?
The Mpisanes had so many cars that they paid R3.5-million for a property adjacent to their three-storey home (that they originally bought for R12 million), and then converted the adjacent home into a garage for their car collection. Expensive garage, hey?
Mpisanes home and cars seized
So if people ask questions and get jealous, I guess you can say that your wife owns it all.
But the wife is a humble domestic worker, so how now?? No she is not, Mabongi Shawn Mpisane is a trained accountant and a “business woman”…with a criminal record of VAT fraud dating back to 2005, out on a three year suspended sentence…and she is politically connected…the daughter of the late ANC local councillor Dumazile Flora Mkhize.
On Tuesday, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) an order authorising it to freeze and seize R140m in property of Shawn and Sibusiso Mpisane. She is facing 172 new tax-related charges involving fraud of at least R2,5 million.
She is accused of, among other things, inflating invoices by more than R5m to cut her tax bill.
Shawn Mpisane says she is not guilty (are they ever?) and put all the blame on her former bookkeeper, Kishal Reddy.
Mpisane’s seized cars valued at R22m
She also illegally formed a closed corporation (Zikhulise Cleaning Maintenance and Transport)…with herself as the only member. You are not allowed to have a CC with a criminal record.
Zikhulise means “to have grown large” or “to have become big” in isiZulu.
And boy did these two become big!
The bling queen hosted spectacularly lavish parties and invited ANC ministers, actors/actresses and top business people. Egyptian themed Parties where the pair rocked up in a helicopter and Oysters, sushi, champagne and three different types of French cognac were on the menu. The flowers alone reportedly cost R300 000. “We are a couple who like class,” Sibusiso told journalists.
Sibusiso Mpisane showed off his new black Rolls-Royce Ghost with personalised numberplates to guests who included police commissioner Bheki Cele; Jacob Zuma’s nephew, Khulubuse Zuma; socialite Khanyi Mbau and half the cast of Generations.
Shawn's illegal company was awarded more than R140m in government tenders after supplying false information to the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). in a bid to get their construction business higher ratings. The alleged aim was to secure massive government tenders.
Other reports say that it was more than R200 million Source …The Mail and Guardian reckons it was more than R300 million Source
They submitted amongst other things, false financial statements and misled the CIDB to believe they had large numbers of artisans and builders in their employ. Source
Last year, the company was accused by the National Home Builders' Registration Council and provincial government of building poor-quality homes in Umlazi, Durban.
The National Home Builders’ Registration Council reportedly found defects in more than a third of these homes. An investigation by The Mercury in January 2010 found that the project remained unfinished because of insufficient funds. Source
Just months after construction, some of the houses were crumbling, The Mercury established during a field trip. The houses were not plastered or painted. Some had no toilets, taps, baths or showers. Source
Despite being tarnished with accusations of shoddy workmanship in the houses, schools and clinics they half built...despite the company trading illegally and the fact that Shauwn Mpisane had a criminal record of VAT fraud, the contracts just kept on coming…against various recommendations not to award them the contracts Source: Fraudster awarded tender
She is also to appear in court in Pinetown in February on charges of corruption and defeating the ends of justice…charges arising from allegations that she persuaded a State witness to alter evidence. Source
But the Mpisanes are small fry. They are just the fall guys! Who awarded them the contracts? Wasn’t it that
A forensic report recommended that disciplinary and criminal charges be brought against municipal manager Mike Sutcliffe, his deputy in charge of procurement, Derek Naidoo, housing chief Coughlan Pather and procurement chief Themba Shezi. Source
See? It is a whole nest of vipers, not just a can of worms!
Let us dig further…Let us see how deep the rabbit hole really goes.
Sibusiso Mpisane features in crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli’s controversial intelligence dossier outlining an alleged plot against President Jacob Zuma, which involves a number of key ANC figures in KwaZulu-Natal.
In the dossier Mpisane is described as a close friend of national police commissioner Bheki Cele. He was the lobola negotiator for Cele’s wedding. Source
In 1998 he was embroiled in a court case involving the Gcaba brothers, who were allegedly responsible for a shooting outside the Durban High Court. Mpisane’s car was one of several getaway vehicles used by the gang.
The Mercury's news editor, Philani Makhanya, laid a complaint of intimidation against him. The alleged intimidation came after Mpisane became aware The Mercury was investigating his affairs.
I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. The trial has just started. Watch this space.
