Lt-Col Deenadayalan Govender, head of the Hawks’ tracing task team in KwaZulu-Natal, allegedly made 37 deposits of R10,000 each into his home loan account on the night of August 31 2022.Govender told the Madlanga commission of inquiry into allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system that the R370,000 was banked in an hour at an ATM.The senior officer faced tough questions at the commission relating to payments of R3m into his account between April 2022 and August 2023.He could also not remember the source of some of the payments but said the R370,000 had been given to him by his mother-in-law, who was assisting him to purchase a property.He said his mother-in-law gave them the cash in the afternoon, and he went to an ATM to bank it.“Commissioner, when you go to an ATM, it takes R10,000 at a time, and you will have to deposit one after the other,” he said. “It was after hours, and I thought it would be easier.”Commission chair Mbuyiseli Madlanga told him he shouldn’t say it was an easy way. He said he wouldn’t do it if it were him.Commissioner Sandile Khumalo told Govender that his reason did not make sense as it was unsafe to carry such a large amount and make numerous deposits. “It smells of money-laundering,” he said.Another transaction that Govender had difficulty in explaining was the source of R298,462 that he received in April 2023.Govender said he had received it as a “loan” from the late Josh Chelin [whom he said he considered a father] in cash. Govender said he gave the money to his accountant Kassie Shamal, who later arranged with another person for the money to be sent to his home loan account.He was then asked about why he would opt for this manner and why he didn’t directly send the money to his account. He said the method seemed simple and he was trying to cut costs.Madlanga then told him his method was far more complicated.“What you are saying is absolutely nonsensical,” he said.Evidence leader advocate Matthew Chaskalson said the manner in which the deposit was done appeared to be hiding dirty money.“It looks to me this is a transaction that has the hallmarks of money-laundering,” he said.Chaskalson also said the amount of money made to that account was more than R3m, and over R2m came from people who had since died and could neither contradict nor corroborate Govender’s version.“And I must indicate to you this is the problem that we tend to encounter at this commission: when awkward questions are asked, we are often told that the only person who can corroborate is someone who is no longer alive.”Govender is alleged to have received more than R2m from alleged drug dealer Clive Naicker for the killing of Bevan Loftus, a Durban-based tow-truck operator and alleged gang member.The allegations were made by Loftus’ father when he appeared at the commission. However, Govender denied the allegations.Allegations are that Naicker and Loftus were competitors in the drug and towing business.Evidence before the commission on Monday revealed that in November 2022, Govender had identified Bevan as a suspect. It was not stated what he had been accused of.However, the next month, Govender and his team allegedly barged into Bevan’s home without a search and seizure warrant or a warrant of arrest. Explaining the reason they showed up at Bevan’s arrest without a warrant, Govender said Bevan was not a white-collar thief but a violent criminal and there had not been time to get one.A year later in April 2023, Loftus was killed during a police operation. The hearing continues.Sowetan