Billy Rautenbach, who fled South Africa after his motor company collapsed, will pay a R40 million fine to settle a decade-long legal battle, the National Prosecuting Authority said.Rautenbach is travelling and wasn’t immediately available to comment when Bloomberg yesterday called his office in Harare, Zimbabwe. Rautenbach pleaded guilty to 326 charges of fraud as a representative of his company, SA Botswana Hauliers, in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria, Mthunzi Mhaga, a spokesman for the NPA, said in response to questions yesterday.
“Mr Rautenbach handed himself to the NPA on September 18 and was arrested through a warrant of arrest on arrival in South Africa,” Mhaga said. “He was sentenced in terms of a plea and sentence agreement.”
Rautenbach left South Africa in 1999 as raids on his property were conducted to recover debts related to the collapse of Botswana-based Hyundai Motor Distributors, which he controlled. The South African government has since made attempts to extradite him from Zimbabwe, of which he is a national.
Rautenbach served for a time as chief executive officer of Gecamines, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state-owned mining company, after Zimbabwe provided military assistance to the government as it fought a war against rebels.
In 2007 Congo detained and ejected Rautenbach while he was travelling on business at a copper venture in the country with Central African Mining, because of the unresolved fraud charges he faced in South Africa. Camec, as the company is known, has previously said Rautenbach holds shares in the company.
Rautenbach partners Central African, which last week agreed to be acquired by Eurasian Natural Resources, in mining projects in Congo, Camec has said. Company spokesman Jeremy Gray declined to comment on the matter when contacted by phone yesterday in London.
Rautenbach agreed to immediately pay a R10m fine, Mhaga said. He has also agreed to pay a fine of R15m to the South African Revenue Service and a further R15m to the Criminal Asset Recovery Account in installments, the NPA’s Mhaga said. As surety, the NPA is holding a farm owned by Rautenbach in Paarl, Mhaga added in a later interview. He said he couldn’t provide contact details for Rautenbach.
Moneyweb
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