STATE prosecutor Peter Serunye has requested that the bail application of Gupta affiliate, Iqbal Sharma, be postponed to verify the details outlined in his affidavit.
Sharma is one of the accused in the near R25 million Estina case that returned to the news headlines last week.
It was revealed during the afternoon proceedings that the Gupta affiliate’s legal team only forwarded what the state describes as a voluminous affidavit at the eleventh hour not providing enough time for them to verify key details such as Sharma’s offshore accounts.
The former Transnet board member’s legal counsel, Advocate Stephanus Coetzee, argues that the conditions under which his client’s affidavit was taken down at the Bainsvlei police station outside Bloemfontein were less than ideal, delaying the forwarding of the legal document to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Sharma also only received his cell phone this morning, discovering an offshore account, which he subsequently declared to authorities.
Coetzee stresses the matter is urgent and requests
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