Block’s R20m assets frozen

ASSETS of Northern Cape ANC leader John Block, worth more than R20 million, were frozen by a High Court order yesterday, the National Prosecuting Authority said.

The Northern Cape High Court provisionally granted the order, freezing a guesthouse and shares, as per the application by the Asset Forfeiture Unit ( AFU), Northern Cape NPA spokeswoman Mashudu Malabi said.

The Upington guesthouse was worth about R500 000. “The AFU is seeking to recover the value of improvements made to the guesthouse to the value of R380 000,” said Malabi.

The order also froze 10 ordinary shares worth about R20m in companies in the Trifecta Investment Holdings group, belonging to Block.

Malabi said the High Court would decide later whether the provisional order should be confirmed.

The assets were frozen on the basis of evidence presented to court in the NPA’s investigation into alleged corrupt payments by companies in the Trifecta group to Block and others.

Trifecta allegedly entered into a number of lease agreements with the Northern Cape social development department, in which the rentals, or rental space, were grossly inflated.

As a result, Trifecta received, or would receive, rentals of R57m at the end of the lease agreements.

The other accused in the case are Trifecta director Alfeus Scholtz, and Northern Cape ANC heavyweights Alvin Botes and Yolanda Botha. – Sapa