IT technician Obakeng Israel Busang on Tuesday denied involvement in defrauding the Post Office and the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA).
“I intend pleading not guilty as I did not commit the offences, did not defraud or worked with anyone in order to do so,” NB Kwinana, for Busang, read from an affidavit on his behalf during an urgent bail application in the Johannesburg specialised commercial crimes court.
“I do not even have any spyware in my laptop to defraud Gautrain.”
Busang, 30, a former employee of the GMA, asked for R2 000 bail.
He faces charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering and contravention of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.
Earlier, the state alleged that Busang was also involved in siphoning off R42m from the PostBank between December 2011 and January 2012. Money was transferred to 103 PostBank accounts opened in five provinces.
Prosecutor Richard Tshabalala said in the GMA case, Busang allegedly colluded with a syndicate to defraud the GMA.
The company stood to lose R800m had the transactions been successful.
Dressed in black tracksuit pants, sneakers and a black jacket, Busang looked composed in the dock as he listened to Kwinana read out his affidavit.
He has two small children and lives with his father and siblings in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria.
Kwinana alleged her client was assaulted by police following his arrest and was forced to sign a blank page. “Colonel Links put a blank page in front of me and told me to sign it, which I did while I was being assaulted. I do not know the contents of the document… I did not freely and voluntarily make a statement.”
He said he was told that he was arrested because he was about to steal from the GMA. He was suspended from work in early October and fired by the GMA on 23 October.
“I was told that my laptop, which I handed to my cousin when I left, showed that I tried hacking into the system. I learnt that my cousin, who also works for Gautrain, handed the laptop to management,” he said.
Busang said he was unfairly dismissed and had since approached the CCMA to get his job back.
Regarding the PostBank, he said he never had a PostBank account. “I don’t have a PostBank account. I once lost my ID document,” he said.
The Hawks and the GMA arrested Busang on 12 November at his home in Ga-Rankuwa.
The state is opposing bail. — Sapa