Carrim 'unaware' of R2.1mn payments to Matlala-linked company, Madlanga hears
North West businessman Suleiman Carrim has told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that he was unaware that one of his companies made payments worth more than R2 million to a firm linked to alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
Carrim said he only became aware of the transactions after they were flagged by the commission’s evidence leaders during his testimony on Tuesday.
Evidence leader Mathew Chaskalson revealed that Carrim’s company, Tasmica Construction, made two payments totaling about R2.1 million to Matlala’s company, Medicare24, between June and October 2024.
The payments had not been included in Carrim’s original statement to the commission, prompting questions about why they had gone undisclosed.
Carrim had earlier testified that in June 2024 he loaned Medicare24 R10 million to help the company service a tender it had secured from the South African Police Service.
During questioning, Chaskalson probed how such large payments could have gone unnoticed in Tasmica’s accounting.
Carrim explained that all financial entries are captured by an employee following the instructions of his accountant, Mr. Van Vuren.
"Ordinarily, if a payment of one million rands just says ‘payment to loan’ and doesn’t describe who it is to or from, the office checks with the accountant,” Carrim said.
“Someone in the office would then account for it, under the guidance of Mr. Van Vuren, who instructs the capturer for accounting purposes.”
Carrim told the commission that Tasmica prepares annual financial statements, which are audited, with the financial year ending in February.
He noted that normally, audited statements are available a couple of months after year-end.
However, Chaskalson highlighted that the payments of R1 million on 27 June and R1.12 million on 7 October should have been reflected in the accounts and could have been identified during audits.
Carrim acknowledged the discrepancy and said it was “troubling,” stressing that he did not authorise the payments.
"I didn’t authorise these payments. This is troubling me now. It’s a lot of money, and I need to find out what happened,” Carrim said.
He said he would require more time to investigate how the transactions occurred, including checking with the capturer and other staff who may have been involved.
Carrim explained that the timing of the October payment fell in a period between the oversight of two other company accountants, which could explain why it was not detected immediately.
Chaskalson also drew attention to a separate R3 million payment into Medicare24’s account in October 2024.
Carrim told the commission that he had no knowledge of this transaction and that none of his companies were involved.
He further denied ever making payments through a hawala system in his commercial dealings, guaranteeing that an investigation of the payment would not trace back to any of his companies.
Based on the newly identified payments, the total amount Medicare24 may owe Carrim could exceed R20 million, including the original R10 million loan and previously unpaid amounts.
Carrim confirmed that the additional R2.12 million would need to be included once all bank statements were verified.
"After checking and confirming all the accounts, we will determine the correct figure,” he said.
The revelations come amid scrutiny of Carrim’s business dealings and raise further questions about the oversight of Tasmica’s financial operations.
Carrim thanked the commission for flagging the payments and said he would work with his accountants to clarify the discrepancies.
He is expected to return to the commission on April 16 to continue his testimony.
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