Magistrate alludes to slain liquidators during bail ruling

South African siblings Rushil and Nishani Singh were denied bail by the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court last week, with Magistrate Phindi Keswa saying she was convinced by the state's argument that they present a flight risk. The Singhs are facing charges of fraud, uttering and forgery linked to a falsified bank guarantee they provided to Investec Bank in 2019 in order to secure a $14m loan, according to News24. The loan was intended to fund their business activities in Ghana, where their company, Ghana Infrastructure Company, had secured roads and hospital construction contracts worth an estimated $56m. Keswa, who heard the bail application, delivered her ruling to a wheelchair-bound Nishani Singh, who told the court that she was unable to walk as a bout of tuberculosis and pneumonia had left her extremely frail. Keswa was unconvinced, ruling that medical treatment could continue while she's in custody. The magistrate found the state had argued convincingly that Rushil Singh was likely to commit further crimes if released on bail. An arrest in January for a fraud case, for which he was already out on bail, weighed heavily in favour of the state's opposition to bail. The matter was postponed to 4 September, as the state had indicated that its investigations had been finalised. Keswa attributed her ruling that the Singhs were a flight risk to the significant assets the siblings hold overseas – in Ghana, Botswana and the US.

The state argued that Nishani Singh’s estranged husband, Steven Killick, had purchased properties in Portugal in order to obtain a ‘golden visa’ – a temporary residency permit in that country attained through investment. While Nishani Singh told the court she would abandon that process, the state argued that it showed she had the means to leave the country, reports News24. Keswa agreed. She also questioned the timing of Nishani Singh’s illness and the start of her medical treatment, pointing out that it appears the medical condition had started around the time the investigating officer informed the Singhs of their intention to obtain warning statements from them. While the Singhs have not been charged with the murders of Cloete and Thomas Murray, Keswa alluded to the shooting of the father and son liquidators on 18 March 2023 twice as she delivered her ruling. She said the court had weighed ‘the events that occurred after the liquidation of ‘BIG’ (Business Innovations Group) the company the Singhs had run, and found it was not in the interests of justice for them to be released. In addition to the charges in this case brought by Investec and the fraud case brought by Nedbank, the Singhs are also facing a criminal investigation in Ghana over the same forged bank guarantees. Nishani, meanwhile, has another case pending that was opened against her by Killick, for allegedly forging his signature on documents submitted to Investec. Investigations in the double-murder case continue, with the Singhs likely to be questioned by police as they had spent the morning with the Murrays on the day of the shooting.

Full News24 report