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·      Tuwani Matthews Mulaudzi demands compensation for unlawful, wrongful and malicious arrest, malicious prosecution and loss of earnings ·      NPA went ahead with prosecution despite advice from its prosecutors emphasising there was no merit in the 29 charges ·      Mulaudzi lost all his businesses during a seven-year trial

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Sizwe sama Yende

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An entrepreneur whose multi-million rand business empire crumbled after being charged on fictitious criminal allegations in 2015 has filed a R5billion civil claim against the state.

Tuwani Matthews Mulaudzi lost everything when police in Durban and Pinelands charged him on 29 counts of theft, fraud, money laundering and racketeering.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) subjected him to prosecution in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court even though prosecutors advised that the criminal charges would not stick.

WATCH: The state ruined our businesses - the sad story of three entrepreneurs

Mulaudzi’s troubles stemmed from an accusation by Old Mutual that he had ceded a R48 million investment to Nedbank but demanded that it be paid to him when it matured.

The court acquitted Mulaudzi of all charges in 2022 following a gruelling seven-year trial.

THE LOSSES

In his claim against the Minister of Police, National Police Commissioner and the NPA, Mulaudzi is demanding compensation for unlawful, wrongful and malicious arrest, malicious prosecution and loss of earnings.

“The third defendants’ (NPA) officials acted without reasonable and probable cause in that they prosecuted even though they foresaw that there were no prospects of securing a successful conviction,” Mulaudzi said in his court papers.

“The dispute was contractual to be dealt with in a civil court as opposed to criminal. They were in possession of an internal memo which recommended that the charges against the plaintiff (Mulaudzi) were without merit and that the charges should be withdrawn as there were no prospects of a successful prosecution. Despite the aforesaid, the third defendant’s officials persisted with the criminal prosecution.”

Mulaudzi stated that members of society viewed him in bad light and that caused him to lose business. Friends and neighbours mistrusted him as a result of the charges, he said.

Among the losses Mulaudzi suffered are:

·      Twenty-two retail stores that had to shut down and their goods were looted by the public;

·      A R130 million stake in a coal company and a R100 million investment in a mining company;

·       A R116.5 million investment in an e-commerce venture;  

·      Luvhomba Group ‘s assets worth R3.2 billion and R4.9 million annual salary.

THE DISPUTED POLICY

Mulaudzi took a R33 million investment frontiers policy with Fairbairn Capital, underwritten by Old Mutual.

The Assets Forfeiture Unit (AFU) froze all his assets on the basis that he had ceded the policy to Nedbank in return for R37.6 million. The AFU alleged that Mulaudzi tried to buy back the policy from Nedbank in 2012, but the bank refused. He then used the same policy to get an overdraft facility at Absa.

AFU claimed that when the policy matured in June 2014, he contacted Old Mutual to request that the full value of the investment, which was R48 million, be paid to him.

The money was deposited into Mulaudzi’s Absa account on 6 June 2014 when the cession of the policy to Nedbank had not been effected on Old Mutual’s system.

The Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court acquitted Mulaudzi of all the charges in 2022. He is now also trying to recover his assets from the Master of the High Court and liquidators. He has sought the intervention of the Special Investigating Unit after realising that some of his assets could not be accounted for.

Before the arrest, Mulaudzi’s Luvhomba Group was a prosperous and growing company with interests in mining, retail, franchising, management consulting and property development.