3 years ago
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ARTICLE AD BOX
- Cape Town businessman Nafiz Modack is struggling to get a new lawyer.
- Modack says he has the money, but can't get anyone to agree to do the four-hour trip to consult him in prison.
- This hitch is holding up the progress of the case.
The VAT fraud leg of Cape Town businessman Nafiz Modack's myriad cases has been delayed because he is struggling to find a new lawyer.
His last lawyer could no longer do the four-hour trip to Helderstroom Prison for consultations with Modack in preparation for the case.
Even if he has a lawyer who is willing to do the trip there and back, prison authorities do not give them enough time together, he claims.
This emerged in the Western Cape High Court on Friday, but the prosecutor quickly nipped the complaint in the bud and said Modack had had since September 2022 to sort out the issue.
Prosecutor Bronwen Hendry-Sidaki said the delays were affecting the other accused. One of them is in custody and another has to make a wasted trip from Johannesburg for the appearance.
The Magistrate's Court also ordered Modack to get another lawyer, but so far this has not happened.
The prosecutor submitted:
At this stage, we can no longer be held hostage by the accused. Eleven lawyers have come and gone since the arrest.
Modack was originally held in Drakenstein Prison in Paarl, about an hour's drive from Cape Town, bit was then moved to Helderstroom for his safety.
He told the court he would risk his safety and move back to Cape Town so that he would be able to consult his lawyer.
"I don't want their security. I'm fine. I'll take my risk (sic). Move me to Cape Town."
Modack's movement is guarded by heavily armed specialist officers, and he travels in an armoured police vehicle.
He assured the court that he had the money for a lawyer, so it was not about "financial instructions". It was about finding someone willing to make the long trip.
READ | Nafiz Modack's lawyer alleges there's a plot to poison his client in prison
The matter was postponed to 20 March for another pre-trial hearing .
Modack and his co-accused face charges of VAT fraud involving millions of rand.
They allegedly submitted claims that could not be substantiated.
The accused are Modack, his brother Yaseen, his mother Ruwaida, Bashir Syce, Nadia Said, Dominique McLachlan, Kalsum van der Schyff, Faried van der Schyff and Layla Bedderson.
The State alleges that several corporate entities were registered as VAT vendors and filed claims online for refunds.
There are at least five cases against Modack in different courts.
One relates to the murder of Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear, and another to the alleged corruption of a Cape Town Central police station commander.
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