Business leader probed over R100m fraud and money laundering

The report states that even though he has not been formally charged, he was served with a court order last week informing him that his assets, including his upmarket Waterkloof Ridge home, millions of rand in investments and a BMW 6 Series, had been attached by the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU). The report says Matthews Tuwani Mulaudzi is executive chair of the Luvhomba Group which conducts business in various industries, including mining, IT, consulting, the acquisition of businesses, ventures, service rendering and retail. The report states that according to court papers filed by the AFU, the fraud investigation against him relates to a R33m Investment Frontiers policy he took out with Fairbairn Capital, underwritten by Old Mutual which was then ceded to Nedbank. In a separate affidavit, AFU regional head Gcobani Bam said Mulaudzi was also being investigated for money laundering after it emerged he had transferred R48m - the full value of the investment - through his FNB bank account to the MMI Group Ltd to buy investments, which he liquidated a week later, according to the report. It says he then transferred the proceeds back to his FNB account and, from there, to other accounts. The case returns to court in November, when Mulaudzi will have an opportunity to say why the provisional order should not be confirmed, the report notes. A Fin24.com report notes the NPA has had a total of R2.5bn in assets over the past five months - more than the total amount it had frozen in the past four years, according to its spokesperson, Nathi Mncube. Full report in The Sunday Independent Full Fin24.com report