Iqbal Sharma denied bail in Bloemfontein
The Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court has denied bail to Gupta associate Iqbal Sharma.
The court delivered judgment on Tuesday afternoon.
Former Transnet board member and Gupta family associate, together with 16 other suspects, face charges related to the defrauding of the Free State Department of Agriculture.
In her ruling, Magistrate Estelle de Lange said it is not in the public interest that Sharma is released on bail.
"I find further that the state presented sufficient evidence that it is not in the interest of the justice that he be released on bail," said De Lange.
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Sharma was arrested alongside four others in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and the Free State last week regarding a near R25 million feasibility study carried out on the Vrede dairy project in 2011 under the Mohoma Mobung initiative.
The feasibility study, central to the case, was given to Gupta-linked Nulane Investments to ascertain the feasibility of the Vrede Dairy Project under the "Mohoma Mobung" initiative. Nulane investments is owned by Sharma.
The fifth suspect, Sharma’s brother-in-law Dinesh Patel is a representative of Nulane Investments.
He will formally appear in court on 15 June due to health reasons.
It’s alleged Nulane roped in Deloitte to conduct the feasibility study for the Free State Agriculture Department, which they did for only R1,5 million.
Nulane then subcontracted the work already carried out by Deloitte to Gateway Limited and paid them R19 million.
The state alleges the funds were laundered into varied accounts thereafter including that of Islandsite Investments owned by the family.
