Cape Town - The absence of invoices that would allegedly exonerate the person outed as the “money man” of alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack has stalled the underworld trial.
Ricardo Morgan came under fire from Judge Robert Henney in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday as the judge lambasted him for failing to provide the evidence to his legal representative, resulting in the cross-examination being stalled.
Morgan is at the centre of the multimillion-rand Empire Investments bank account transactions.
The State contends the account was used by Modack and his co-accused to launder money gained through extortion and used to pay for the pinging services of Zane Kilian.
The childhood friend of Modack was busted several years ago after allegedly trying to dodge Hawks officers as they scrutinised bank accounts linked to Empire Investments.
He was granted R50 000 bail in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court, and is currently facing multiple charges of money laundering.
During earlier hearings, payments made from Kilian to Morgan using vulgar bank references came under scrutiny by Judge Henney, who remarked that legitimate businessmen would not use such language when making financial transactions.
Morgan’s lawyer, Scanlyn Collins, told the court that several years ago his client became reacquainted with Modack and they went into business to buy and sell high-end vehicles.
Bank statements provided by Hawks detective Captain Edward du Plessis showed that Morgan transferred over R2.8 million into the Empire Investments bank account using various car references.
Du Plessis questioned the validity of Morgan’s claims, saying since he was busted in 2021.
He never produced the invoices proving that there may have been legitimate business transactions.
He also said that when questioned by the Hawks, Morgan denied knowing Modack, but Collins told the court Morgan was scared and feared for his life.
After stalling court proceedings twice on Wednesday to allow Collins to discuss the invoices with Morgan, Judge Henney postponed the trial to next week, saying if the evidence could exonerate him, it needed to be brought to court.
“I am not happy. You are out on bail and this is causing delays. This is not a petty case,” the judge warned.
The trial will resume on Monday.