Africa-Press – South-Africa. The fraud and money laundering case against the DA’s Nora Grose was struck off the roll in the Bellville Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday.
It was confirmed by National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, who said “the matter against Nora Grose was struck off the roll”.
Grose was granted R10 000 bail by the Atlantis Magistrate’s Court after being accused of misappropriating City of Cape Town funds.
The NPA was unable to provide a response to the representation made by Grose’s legal team on Thursday.
The matter has been in and out of court for two years, and has been postponed at least 20 times.
Grose faced charges of fraud and money laundering.
Grose and Reuben Swartz, the chairperson of the SA Religious Civic Organisation, were accused of money laundering related to food parcels and for allegedly diverting money to a church.
An investigation revealed that Swartz received up to R170 000 from the City’s humanitarian fund.
The money was meant for food parcels in Atlantis, but was allegedly channelled to the church, which has ties to Grose.
News24 previously reported that the church implicated in the case had paid back some of the money to the City.
A document seen by News24 showed the Life Changers Church in Table View paid back R54 328.06 of the R171 778 in Covid-19 food relief funds it allegedly received irregularly.
The DA’s Emma Powell said the NPA had failed to provide the court with any substantive evidence in relation to the charges brought against Grose.
“Two years later, this matter has been postponed no less than 20 times. In striking the matter from the roll, the court further expressed its severe dissatisfaction with the State’s inability to present its case, almost two years after the date of Grose’s arrest,” she said.
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