Former City of Cape Town employees, company director in court over R210m corruption case

(From left) Jonathan van Rooy, Brett Lucas and Koos Johannes Muller appeared in court in connection with a R210-million corruption case.

• Three men have appeared in court on fraud and corruption charges.
• Two of the accused are former City of Cape Town employees.
• The Hawks said the three, including a company director, were involved in a corrupt deal that led to the City losing R210 million.

Two former municipal officials and a company director have appeared in a Cape Town court in connection with a R210-million corruption case.

The men – Brett Lucas, 47; Jonathan van Rooy, 54; and Koos Johannes Muller, 52; along with a juristic person, the company JVR Construction CC – appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Their court appearance came after warrants of arrest were issued against them stemming from allegations of fraud and corruption, which the forensic division of the City of Cape Town reported to the Hawks.

READ | Department of Water drowning in sea of corruption, ‘ugliest’ case links back to Zuma’s presidency

The City of Cape Town contracted JVR Construction CC, owned by Van Rooy, to perform maintenance on roads in and around the city. The contract was valid from November 2011 to September 2017, said Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase.

“It is reported that Van Rooy paid Lucas and Muller – who were attached to the water and sanitation division within the City – in order for them to fast-track the tender process.

“Forensic and financial investigations revealed that there were invoices that were backdated in order to facilitate payments to JVR Construction CC for services rendered. The City of Cape Town Municipality suffered a total loss surpassing R210 million,” said Nkwalase.

Van Rooy was released on R20 000 bail on Wednesday, while Lucas and Muller were released on R10 000 bail each. The case was postponed to 17 March 2023 for a Regional Court date.

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