Breytenbach faces tender charges

Glynnis Breytenbach faces arrest again - this time on separate charges of defeating the ends of justice and corruption involving the rigging of multimillion-rand tender contracts. She stands accused of abuse of power during her tenure as a National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) prosecutor to influence the outcome of the awarding of the tenders involving a medical aid scheme and projects in the construction industry related to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, according to sources close to the investigations. A week ago, Breytenbach appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court for contravening Section 40 (d) of the NPA Act. She was granted bail of R10 000. According to the NPA, Breytenbach refused to hand in her work-issue laptop and allegedly removed evidence from it while she faced an internal investigation for misconduct in 2012, when she was head of the specialised crimes unit. A senior official in the NPA told The Star that the charges against Breytenbach carry a sentence of 25 years in prison.

“That is why the case is going to be transferred to the high court because the magistrate’s court has no jurisdiction (in this case),” the official said, adding that Breytenbach was the first person to be charged for contravening Section 40 (d) of the NPA Act. Breytenbach appeared to laugh off the new charges when contacted for comment on Sunday, saying: “I have no comment. I don’t care what the Hawks are doing.” She has previously maintained that the charges against her were trumped up and were a political conspiracy. However, Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said their investigation into Breytenbach on three separate charges of corruption were at an advanced stage and that they could make an arrest soon. According to sources, the Hawks are investigating Breytenbach for her alleged role in a R30 million a-year, five-year contract to administer the Hosmed medical aid scheme. Hosmed was allegedly awarded the contract at the expense of Allcare, which was the preferred bidder after three other companies were eliminated in the medical health care matter.

The allegations are that Breytenbach’s partner was a representative for one of the bidders that were eliminated. It is alleged that to ensure that their client was awarded the contract, police officials, Breytenbach, her partner and other officials developed a strategy to discredit and “embarrass Allcare by carrying out raids” that were allegedly timed to ensure Allcare lost the lucrative contract. “We have a very strong case. A lot of witnesses have come forward and given crucial information to the task team that is investigating the case,” Hangwani said. The other allegations relate to the Competition Commission’s probe into tender-rigging in the construction industry, thought to have involved at least R47 billion and involving 140 projects. Among the allegations the Competition Commission investigated were that projects allegedly had been “fixed”, among them the building of Soccer City Stadium in Joburg, the Cape Town Soccer Stadium, the Coega development project in the Eastern Cape, the Nelson Mandela Bridge in Joburg and the Gautrain.

According to insiders, Breytenbach allegedly abused her position and manipulated the legal processes to ensure that false charges were brought against the competitor of the company represented by her close/intimate friend and business partner. A damning report by the NPA’s Integrity Management Unit found that Breytenbach had inappropriate relationships with advocate Andre Bezuidenhout and businessman Nathan Kirsh. It was recommended that she be charged for corruption, misconduct and for defeating the ends of justice. The report also found that Breytenbach abused her seniority, defeated the ends of justice, defrauded the NPA and accepted kickbacks from her friends while pursuing cases for their benefit. Her alleged misdemeanours include soliciting a $1 million (worth R11m at the time) loan and a R6.3m donation from Kirsh, who had been a complainant in a case she had worked on several years before. The report alleged Breytenbach and Bezuidenhout became partners in a British Virgin Islands-based business, which Kirsh gave an R11m loan towards at Breytenbach’s request.