Angelo Agrizzi has been charged in relation to bribes of R800,000 which were paid to former African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament Vincent Smith, whose case was postponed to 3 December.
FILE: Angelo Agrizzi appears in the Randburg Magistrate Court on 27 June 2019. Picture: EWN
JOHANNESBURG – The State has argued that it was not in the interests of justice to release former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi on bail after he was charged with corruption and fraud earlier on Wednesday.
Appearing in the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court, which is sitting as the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, Agrizzi’s lawyers contended that he was not a flight risk and had been open with the State, describing the prosecutors’ decision to oppose his bail as an ambush.
Agrizzi has been charged in relation to bribes of R800,000 which were paid to former African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament Vincent Smith, whose case was postponed to 3 December.
Despite many disputes by Angelo Agrizzi’s lawyers over how the State had handled the proceedings, the State has stuck to its case, inferring that by virtue of not disclosing all his financial assets, he was a flight risk.
In an affidavit submitted in the matter, Agrizzi estimated that his moveable and immovable assets to be worth under R10 million.
However, prosecutors stated that he had failed to disclose that between December 2018 and January last year he and his common-law wife transferred about R24 million to offshore accounts.
Agrizzi’s lawyers have further argued that they were aggrieved that there was no disclosure from the State on how he fit into the current matter before the court, adding that as he explained at the state capture commission he was only acting as a “messenger” of the late Gavin Watson.
