The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) has entered into a plea and sentence agreement with former BOSASA Chief Operations Officer (COO), Angelo Agrizzi, in connection with corruption involving senior Department of Correctional Services officials.
Agrizzi pleaded guilty to corruption linked to former Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services Linda Morris Mti, former Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services, Patrick O’Connell Gillingham, and former member of the National Assembly Vincent George Smith, who chaired the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services.
According to an IDAC statement, Agrizzi pleaded guilty to three counts of corruption - two of those counts of Corruption allege his contravention of section 4(1)(b) of Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities [PRECCA] and the third count of Corruption alleges his contravention of section 7(1)(b) of PRECCA.
He also pleaded guilty to one count of Money Laundering in contravention of section 4 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act [POCA].
Agrizzi was sentenced to 10 years direct imprisonment on four counts suspended for five years.
“[The sentence] is wholly suspended for five years on various conditions, including that the accused co-operates with the IDAC and provides the Investigators attached to the IDAC and the SAPS officials assigned to the investigation of this matter with affidavits, detailing the full extent of his knowledge of all matters investigated by the IDAC regarding the corruption by both public and/or private officials at BOSASA.
“The IDAC affirms that while the crimes committed were severe - representing a critical component of state capture - the agreement secures a definitive conviction and mandates Agrizzi’s continued and truthful cooperation," the IDAC said.
The directorate added that Agrizzi's cooperation, which includes providing affidavits in terms of Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act and testifying in all proceedings, is indispensable to the NPA’s ongoing investigations and future prosecutions against other high-level individuals implicated in the BOSASA corruption network.
"The agreement will also ensure that broader accountability is prioritised. Furthermore, the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) will proceed with an opposed confiscation inquiry, in terms of POCA, to recover the proceeds of these criminal activities,” the IDAC said. – SAnews.gov.za
