Alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack and co-accused Ziyaad Poole and Moegamat Brown appear in the Western Cape High Court on Monday, 25 May. (Photo: Vincent Cruywagen)
Alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack’s close associate Ziyaad Poole took the stand on Monday, 25 May, denying all allegations and distancing himself from the charges against him. Despite his denials, his testimony provided a glimpse into the State’s core argument: the existence of a sophisticated money-laundering network central to an alleged criminal syndicate.
The Western Cape High Court heard that Poole, who earned roughly R7,000 a month as a security guard for Modack between May 2019 and March 2021, could not explain substantial payments channelled to him through the account of Empire Investment Cars. The State contends that R213,000 paid to Poole via transactions with various false references was part of a much broader money-laundering scheme.
Poole faces more than 20 charges, including murder, fraud, and money laundering.
According to the State, the Empire Investment Cars account was allegedly used to fund several crimes linked to the criminal enterprise, including:
- Failed attempts between October and November 2019 to murder Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear;
- The July 2019 murder of Nicolaas Heerschap, father of former Hawks warrant officer Nico Heerschap;
- The attack on the home of alleged underworld figure Andre Naude on the night of 6 September 2019;
- The murder of tow truck driver Richard Joseph on 20 September 2019;
- The failed attempt in April 2020 to murder lawyer William Booth; and
- The murder of Kinnear in September 2020.
Evidence on record shows that former rugby player and murder accused Zane Kilian was allegedly paid R96,500 by Empire Investment Cars, and co-accused Amaal Jantjies allegedly received R64,000 from the Empire account across five transactions between November 2019 and October 2020.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/6T5A3619-copy.jpg "Zane Kilian (centre) in the Western Cape High Court on 5 May 2023. (Photo: Daily Maverick)")
Evidence presented by Hawks investigating officer Captain Edward du Plessis during eight days of testimony before Judge Robert Henney in 2024 alleged that R23.5-million was laundered through the account in under three years.
Poole is one of the suspects in the failed attempt on Booth, the attack on the house of Naude, and the murders of Joseph and Heerschap. Members of the Terrible West Siders (TWS) were allegedly behind these incidents.
On Tuesday, 26 May, prosecutor Greg Wolmarans challenged Poole’s testimony. Wolmarans argued that Poole’s income from May 2019 to 14 March 2021 was not a legitimate security salary, but rather a series of illicit payments masked through the Empire account.
This cross-examination comes on the heels of a decisive ruling by Judge Henney on Wednesday, 20 May. Finding that ongoing delays and litigation had bottlenecked the proceedings for months, Judge Henney utilised Section 342A(3)(d) of the Criminal Procedure Act to officially order the closure of Modack’s defence.
Background
The Modack saga began in 2019 after multiple attempts on the life of Charl Kinnear, including a failed hand grenade attack at his Bishop Lavis home in November that year.
In April 2022, confessed Junky Funky Kids (JFK) gang member Fareez Smith entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the State, admitting involvement in the attempts on Kinnear’s life and the illegal possession of an explosive device. Smith also confessed to conspiring with fellow JFK members Janick Adonis and Amaal Jantjies to murder Kinnear at his home in Bishop Lavis.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Caryn-Ex-cops-death-threats-4.jpg "Charl Kinnear was murdered outside his home in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town. (Photo: Noor Slamdien)")
The State contends that Modack led a criminal organisation known as the “Modack Enterprise” that engaged in racketeering and promoted criminal activity in contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca).
Modack and Kilian are the two main accused in the murder of Kinnear on 18 September 2020. The State contends that they also conspired in a failed attempt to murder Booth on 9 April 2020.
Modack and Kilian, with the other accused, are collectively facing 124 charges, including murder, attempted murder, corruption, gangsterism, extortion, the illegal interception of communications, money laundering and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
The other accused are Poole, Jacques Cronje, Moegamat Brown, Riyaat Gesant, Fagmeed Kelly, Mario Petersen (alleged members of the Terrible West Siders), Petrus Visser, Janick Adonis, Amaal Jantjies, former Anti-Gang-Unit Sergeant Ashley Tabisher, Yaseen Modack, Mogamat Mukudam and Ricardo Morgan.
Poole, Brown, Gesant, Kelly and Petersen are the main accused in the Heerschap murder.
Modack and his co-accused pleaded not guilty to the charges in January 2024.
Poole’s evasive testimony
Poole’s evidence appeared thin on substance as he sought to rebut the serious allegations against him, with repeated refrains of “It’s a lie”, “I deny it” and “I have no knowledge” echoing in Court 1 of the Western Cape High Court.
Poole also came under sustained pressure over the salary payments he claimed to have received from Andre Fabian, an associate of Modack, who allegedly offered him employment as a driver in April 2019. Poole testified that he was later appointed in May 2019 as a security guard for APS Security and stationed at Modack’s residence in Plattekloof, Cape Town.
The court heard that Poole was in the vehicle with Modack during a high-speed chase preceding Modack’s arrest on 29 April 2021.
Wolmarans highlighted what he described as a bizarre arrangement: APS Security kept Poole on its books as a guard, yet an entirely different entity appeared to be paying his salary.
“Where was your salary coming from in May 2019?” Wolmarans asked.
Poole replied that he believed the money came from Fabian.
“That, though, is not possible,” Wolmarans shot back.
Poole further denied that he or his wife ever worked for Empire Investment Cars, lent money to the business, or received any commissions from it.
What appeared to unsettle Poole during cross-examination was the State’s focus on the payment references reflected on bank statements linked to transfers from Empire Investment Cars into his Capitec account. The references included descriptions such as “loan”, “overtime”, “commission”, “mask”, “car parts” and “salary”.
Poole’s response did little to dispel the court’s scepticism.
“Even though it is there, My Lord, I knew for what purpose the money was, and whatever reference was there I didn’t take notice of it,” he told the court.
Judge Henney pushed back on Poole’s logic, questioning how he could fail to notice over a two-year period that his deposits were originating from Empire Investment Cars rather than Fabian, his alleged employer.
The judge emphasised that the funds undeniably came directly from the Empire account — a facility prosecutors claim sits at the very centre of Modack’s criminal syndicate.
He pressed the point home: “You saw the payment notifications for R213,000 between 1 May 2019 and 14 March 2021. Yet, across those 40 separate transactions, you never once wondered why you were being paid for a ‘loan,’ nor did you notice over a two-year period that these payments were coming from Empire Investment Cars?”
Wolmarans argued that all the threads in the matter pointed back to one central figure: Modack.
“The common denominator is Mr Modack. He knows Fabian, he knows APS Security, he knows Empire Investment Cars and you,” Wolmarans argued.
“It wasn’t him who paid me,” Poole replied.
But Wolmarans persisted, questioning how Poole could remain on APS Security’s books while allegedly receiving salary payments from elsewhere.
“How could you possibly be on APS’s books and they are not paying your salary? How could that be?” Wolmarans asked, before suggesting that Modack had been funding the payments since May 2019.
The trial continues. DM