The High Court in Johannesburg has granted a final forfeiture order allowing the State to permanently seize assets worth approximately R326 million linked to the Maumela syndicate, in what the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has described as a significant milestone in the fight against corruption.
The forfeiture order follows a preservation order granted in August 2025 and covers a portfolio of luxury assets, including high-end properties in Sandton, Bantry Bay, Hartbeespoort, Ballito and Cape Town, as well as several luxury vehicles, including four Lamborghinis, a Bentley Continental GT, an Isuzu D-Max and a luxury boat.
The NPA reveals that the assets are linked to businessman Hangwani Maumela, whose companies allegedly benefited from irregular procurement at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital.
According to the NPA, the investigation was sparked by a report compiled by the late Babita Deokaran, the Gauteng Department of Health’s former Chief Director of Financial Accounting, who exposed suspected procurement irregularities at Tembisa Hospital before she was assassinated in August 2021.
Subsequent forensic investigations by the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), supported by National Treasury’s Specialised Audit Services Unit, uncovered what authorities described as large-scale procurement fraud and corruption.
