'We went along with the lies'
2003-03-05 23:16
Pretoria - To both him and African National Congress Women's League president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela it sounded strange that a senior bank official wanted loan application forms to falsely state that the applicants worked for the ANCWL, broker Addy Moolman testified on Wednesday.
"But we decided to go ahead and see what happened," Moolman told the Pretoria regional court.
He and Madikizela-Mandela are facing 60 charges of fraud and 25 of theft involving R942 360.
The State alleges that letters on the ANCWL letterhead, bearing Madikizela-Mandela's signature, were used to fraudulently obtain loans from Saambou Bank in the name of bogus league employees, including her daughter Zinzi.
The theft charges relate to amounts of R360 deducted from loan applicants' bank accounts for a funeral policy that allegedly did not exist.
According to testimony before court, there was an agreement that Saambou Bank would lend money to ANCWL employees.
Moolman testified earlier that Willie Meuter, then national head of Saambou Bank's loans department, told him that people who did not work for the league could also qualify, as long as their applications were accompanied by an ANCWL letter signed by Madikizela-Mandela stating that they were in the league's employ.
'Tell us lies'
Jan Ferreira, for the State, asked Moolman: "Didn't you find it strange that the bank said 'Okay, tell us lies'?"
Moolman said both he and Madikizela-Mandela did find it strange. However, he had expected the bank would verify the information.
Then it would be an exercise in futility, Ferreira contended. If the bank phoned Eunice Martins, Madikizela-Mandela's secretary whose name was given as the contact person on all the application forms, she would have told them those people did not work for the league.
"Why did you want to tackle such a futile process?"
Moolman said the head of Saambou's loans department said he could make it work this way.
"I expected we would do it this way and see what happened."
Ferreira asked him whether he had ever, in his experience as a broker, heard that a bank authorised lying.
"No, I've never heard that before," Moolman replied.
The trial continues.
- SAPA