Former Pinnacle Holdings director Takalani Tshivhase, who is fighting charges that he bribed a senior police official to secure a multimillion-rand contract for the JSE-listed technology company, has had his court case postponed for a second time.
Tshivhase appeared in the Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court on 24 April, but his case was postponed to today, 2 July. However, the case has again been postponed, this time until 9 September. This was at the request of the prosecution, which wants to consider representations made by Tshivhase, Pinnacle said in a statement to shareholders.
“The company will review the matter as further information becomes available and will inform shareholders accordingly,” it said.
In March, TechCentral broke the news that Tshivhase had been arrested for allegedly trying to pay a R5m bribe to secure a tender with the South African Police Service.
The share price plummeted as a result of the arrest and amid concerns about the way Pinnacle managed the release of information about the developments. These concerns wiped more than R1,5bn off Pinnacle’s market in a matter of days.
The company came under fire for not communicating sufficiently with shareholders, only informing them of what had happened after news broke on TechCentral of the arrest. Pinnacle was also criticised heavily for allowing directors to sell shares after it became aware of the arrest and the charges against him. The company defended the sales.
Tshivhase was arrested by the Hawks on 5 March. In the same week, Pinnacle announced he was taking a leave of absence until the criminal proceedings had been concluded. — © 2014 NewsCentral Media
