Staff Reporter.
The Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court has postponed the case against four suspects arrested in connection with the failed R288 million Estina dairy project in Vrede in the Free State.
Gupta linked businessman Iqbal Sharma and former Free State agriculture department officials Peter Thabethe, Limakatso Moorosi and Seipati Dlamini appeared briefly in court on Thursday morning.
The defence requested the case against Thabethe and Sharma be postponed to 7 June 2021 for a formal bail application. This means that the two will remain in custody until Monday for their bail hearing.
Moorosi and Dlamini’s bail application will be heard later on Thursday afternoon.
The accused were arrested by the Hawks on Wednesday in Gauteng, Free State and Mpumalanga.
The NPA’s Investigative Directorate said the arrest of a fifth suspect was imminent.
The group was charged with a string of crimes which include fraud, theft, conspiracy to commit fraud and theft. The charges relate to the infamous Estina dairy farm project where millions of rands destined for poor farmers were allegedly swindled by the Gupta family.