Nicholas Kourie, a lawyer for former ANC MP and corruption accused Vincent Smith, has refuted the Investigating Directorate’s claim that the defence was not prepared for a pretrial conference on 28 November in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg, which led to the case being postponed to 23 February.

On Tuesday, Kourie told Daily Maverick that Smith had been waiting for his day in court to challenge the State’s allegations against him. He said Smith was ready to stand trial, enter a plea of not guilty and present evidence that would get him acquitted.

Smith and his co-accused, the former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi, face a slew of charges, which include fraud and corruption. Smith faces additional charges of money laundering and tax evasion for alleged payments made to his company Euroblitz 48.

The alleged corrupt relationship between Smith and Agrizzi relates to a R1.8-billion Department of Correctional Services tender fraud case involving Bosasa and a bribe Smith is alleged to have received from Agrizzi.

According to court papers, Bosasa gave Smith cash “gratifications”, university fee payments and a VW Polo for his daughter in return for offering political influence in Bosasa’s favour. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Former ANC MP Vincent Smith arrested, pleads not guilty to corruption

Smith’s subsequent arrest and charges stem from Agrizzi’s explosive testimony at the Zondo Commission, in which he stated that Bosasa had made payments totalling more than R600,000 to Smith, then an MP. Smith claimed the money was a personal loan from Agrizzi for his daughter’s university fees.

During his testimony at the commission, Agrizzi gave deeply self-incriminating evidence and testified that he was aware of, and involved in, corruption throughout his time at Bosasa.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Agrizzi and Smith’s key relationship in Bosasa fraud scandal unfolds in court papers

On the count of tax fraud relating to Euroblitz 48, the State contends that from 3 March 2009 to 26 February 2017, Smith submitted a “zero return” declaration on behalf of Euroblitz 48 for the 2008 to 2016 tax years, whereas Euroblitz 48 received taxable income of R15-million.  

Smith was arrested after he handed himself over to the Alberton police station in Gauteng in October 2020 and was charged with fraud, corruption, money laundering and tax fraud. Fast-forward to three years later and a trial date has still not been set.

The delays began when Agrizzi suffered a heart attack in October 2020 and has been unable to appear in court since.

There was a glimmer of hope that the trial would commence, when in July 2021 the Specialised Commercial Crime Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court granted the State’s application for Agrizzi and Smith to be tried separately.

The matter was on the roll in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg last Wednesday but Investigating Directorate spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said: “The matter has been postponed to 23 February 2024. The matter was postponed due to the defence not being ready to do the pretrial.”

Ready to convene pretrial

However, Smith’s lawyer Kourie said the defence had been ready.

“Our offices were not in receipt of a pre-trial agenda preceding the court appearance scheduled on 28 November 2023. Our officers arrived at court on the 28th of November 2023 with dates in mind of when we wanted to postpone the matter for trial purposes.

“Our client was ready to convene a pre-trial conference in court on the 28th of November 2023 despite not being in receipt of a pre-trial agenda from the State.”

Kourie said that no fault could be attributed to the defence or Smith for delaying the matter.

“Our client has been long awaiting his day in court to challenge the State’s various allegations against him,” Kourie told Daily Maverick.

Meanwhile, the R1.8-billion corruption case against Agrizzi and three co-accused, former Department of Correctional Services commissioner Lindi Mti, former Correctional Services chief financial officer Patrick Gillingham and former Bosasa chief financial officer Andries van Tonder, has been repeatedly delayed due to Agrizzi’s ill health.

Judge David Makhoba ruled in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria on Friday, 2 December, that Agrizzi would be tried separately from his co-accused. DM