Johannesburg - Businessman and Gupta associate Iqbal Sharma will have to wait until November to hear if the restraint order against him will be lifted.
“The interim restraint order granted in June this year has been extended to 18 November 2021. In November the restraint will either be confirmed as requested by the Investigating Directorate (ID) Asset Forfeiture Unit or discharged,” said ID spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka.
The order was made by the High Court of South Africa Free State Division which dealt with the confirmation of the unlimited restraint against Sharma and his companies.
“The freezing order is in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crimes Act (POCA). The order applies to assets in South Africa which include all property of Islandsite 180 Pty Ltd, Sharma and his wife Tarina Patel-Sharma and any property. held by Sharma’s companies, including two registered in the UAE,” said Seboka.
The court in June additionally appointed a curator to take control of and preserve the assets pending the outcome of criminal charges for fraud and money laundering offences instituted against Sharma, Nulane, Islandsite, the four Gupta family and others in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on 3 June 2021.
“Should the accused be convicted, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) will apply for a confiscation order against Sharma and Islandsite to recoup the value of benefits derived from the offences and related criminal activities,” Seboka said.
In June the Assets Forfeiture Unit pounced and seized properties belonging to Sharma in Western Cape and Gauteng.
Seboka said Sharma’s assets that form part of the curator’s inventory include his Sandton home valued at over R12 million.
The property was featured on lifestyle television programme, Top Billing, and is owned through a UAE-registered company, Issar Global.
Other assets include movable property valued at R500 000 and a R1.3 million sectional title home in Sandton.
Properties owned by Gupta family company Islandsite that form part of the inventory include a house worth R21 million in Constantia, near Cape Town, and a R12 million house in Saxonwold.
Political Bureau