6 August 2007
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) hereby confirms that the
Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), commonly referred to as the Scorpions,
arrested Pieter Hendrick Bothma on Monday, 6 August 2007 in Cape Town. He
appeared before the Cape Town Magistrate's Court and will be facing the
following charges: fraud, theft and corruption. The Scorpions will allege in
court that Bothma was part of a conspiracy to steal an amount in excess of R200
million from the Department of Labour's Transport Education Training Authority
(Teta).
Bothma was granted bail on the amount of R200 000 with conditions that
include the following:
* that he surrenders all his passports (previous and current) to the
Scorpion's Investigating Officer
* that the accused is not to enter the international point (arrival or
departure sections) without consent of the Investigation Officer
* that the accused must apply in writing to the Scorpions for permission,
should he need to travel outside the Republic of South Africa
* that the accused reports once a week to the Scorpions regarding his
whereabouts until the trial is finalised.
This arrest comes four months after the arrest of J Arthur Brown and Graham
Maddock. Bothma will be joined in with the said co-accused. The case has been
postponed for further investigations to 31 August 2007 at the Cape Town
Magistrate's court.
Enquiries:
Tlali Tlali
Cell: 082 333 3880
Issued by: National Prosecuting Authority
6 August 2007
Source: National Prosecuting Authority (http://www.npa.gov.za)
