Jailed fraudster drops bail application

THE WESTERN Cape High Court yesterday confirmed that J Arthur Brown’s bail application had been withdrawn, which means the convicted fraudster will remain in jail.

This comes after Brown’s lawyers brought an urgent bail application on December 23 last year, but withdrew it on Thursday.

Attention will now turn to Brown’s application to have the Constitutional Court hear an appeal against his 15-year jail term.

The country’s highest court has not yet decided whether it will hear the appeal.

In the High Court yesterday, Judge Thandazwa Ndita recognised Brown’s bail application had been withdrawn in a judgment that lasted little more than five minutes.

The decision, which was welcomed by the National Prosecuting Authority, was considered a formality, given Brown’s team withdrew the bail application on Thursday.

In doing so, they acknowledged that the High Court did not have jurisdiction over judgments by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which in December sentenced the former Fidentia boss to 15 years in jail on two counts of fraud.

Judge Ndita did, however, have some harsh words for Brown’s legal team in respect of the bail application, saying it did not respect the hierarchy of the courts, and was “highly irregular”.

“This court has no jurisdiction to entertain the matter,” she said. “It simply flows from the hierarchy of the court system.”

In May 2013, Brown was sentenced to a R150 000 fine and a suspended jail term on two counts of fraud related to his dealings with the Training and Education Training Authority, and the Mantadia Asset Trust Company, known as the Living Hands Umbrella Trust.

The NPA appealed, and the matter was heard by the SCA. Last month the higher court sentenced Brown to 15 years for each count of fraud, overturning his previous more lenient sentence. The sentences will run concurrently.

APPEAL: J Arthur Brown will now turn to the Constitutional Court