End of the road for Block
Former ANC chairperson and ex-MEC for finance John Block speaks to senior advocate Salie Joubert after he was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment in the Northern Cape High Court yesterday.
THE 15-year corruption conviction of former ANC Northern Cape strongman and MEC John Block could send a strong message to rotten party cadres that crime doesn’t pay.
Block’s graft conviction yesterday, believed to be the first for a top ANC official, comes four years after he was charged.
Block and the chief executive of Trifecta Investments, Christo Scholtz, were yesterday sentenced to an effective 15 years in jail each in the Northern Cape High Court in Kimberley.
The pair were charged with corruption and money laundering.
Block had no words, other than to indicate that the process “was not over yet”, when he left the courtroom.
The pair were found guilty of corruption and money laundering in October 2015. Government leases exceeding R100m were facilitated with the Trifecta group of companies in Kimberley, Upington, Kuruman, Springbok and Douglas in exchange for kickbacks.
The six Trifecta companies were issued with a R1.2m fine, while Block’s now defunct company, Chisane Investments, was spared prosecution as it has since been declared insolvent.
Block, who still maintains he is innocent, has 30 days in which to surrender R2m of his assets to the state and make a deposit into the National Treasury’s account.
Scholtz will have R60m of his assets confiscated, while the Asset Forfeiture Unit previously calculated an amount of R600m.
The accused will also be liable to pay additional curators’ fees, plus interest on any outstanding amount not been paid by the due date.
Scholtz is a first-time offender while Block has a previous theft conviction.
Northern Cape High Court Judge Mmathebe Phatsoane highlighted the seriousness of the offences and sent out a clear message that graft won’t be tolerated.
“Corruption is eating away at the fabric of society and is a scourge in our modern democracy.”
She pointed out that subjecting the accused to correctional supervision would be a “mockery of justice”.
“Scholtz downplayed his role in facilitating the leases that served as a direct capital injection for the Trifecta group of companies that benefited from corrupt activities.”
The judge described the transactions as “grossly unfair to the public”.
“An unethical and corrupt relationship existed where high-ranking government officials, including the HoD for Social Development, Yolanda Botha, and a powerful politician (Block) received gratifications in large amounts.”
Botha passed away before the conclusion of the trial.
“Nothing presented by Scholtz or Block showed that any compelling or substantial circumstances exist to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentences.”
According to Judge Phatsoane, “the only penalty that can be imposed on the multiple offences by the corporate accused is a fine”.
She explained that Trifecta Investment Holdings was the umbrella company of the Trifecta group of companies, where multiple payments were concluded between 2005 and 2015 by the Northern Cape government.