Revered actress Terry Pheto lost her R3 million Bryanston mansion to an auction held to recoup monies stolen from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC).
UPDATE: The SIU has confirmed that investigations into Terry Pheto’s involvement in the NLC fraud scheme are still ongoing. The actress‘s Bryanston property also had an unsuccessful auction debut with no bids made.
How much did Terry Pheto Bryanston mansion auction for?
The lead actress of the Oscar-winning feature film Tsotsi (2005) was the subject of an intensive probe led by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into the large-scale illicit fraud and corruption that gripped the lotteries commission between 2014 and 2020.
Pheto, a respected figure in local and international entertainment, was listed as one of eight suspects involved in a sophisticated scheme to abuse funds earmarked for social development campaigns in the cultural health sector.
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Following a two-year probe, where the actress was exposed as a crucial cog in the movement of millions of rand earmarked for public campaigns, her prized Bryanston property was auctioned at a starting price of R3 million, a 40% loss on the amount she and her cronies paid in 2018.
Here is a look at some of the images of the three-bedroom, 502m2 mansion, taken from the auction page, which has since been marked as ‘sold’ for an undisclosed fee.
A timeline of Pheto’s involvement in a multi-million-rand real estate scheme
When the news first broke out in November 2022, Pheto had vehemently denied any and all involvement in the multi-million-rand scheme.
However, very quickly after that, the actress made a U-turn and confirmed she was cooperating with the investigation and would assist the SIU where she could to clear her name.
What Pheto had not revealed back then was the depth of her involvement in the funnelling of R20.2 million funded by the NLC for the roll-out of a safety campaign on circumcision “and culturally sensitive medical intervention projects aimed at achieving [safe] traditional circumcision practices.”
According to the SIU, the NLC approved Zibsimonde NPC’s R20.2 million grant application on 23 May 2017, and from that total, R16.2 million was transferred to the shell company’s bank account, which was chaired by a man named Mulala Tlhabyane, a week later.
Pheto’s involvement in the scheme was first recorded on 31 May 2017, when she approached a construction company to purchase land and develop a residential estate in the sought-after Devonshire Avenue, in Bryanston.
At the time, the land in question was valued at R1.25 million and to undertake the development, Pheto and her cohorts would have to fork out an additional R3.75 million, taking the total of the construction project up to R5 million, 60% of which was deposited into a trust account.
By 2 March 2018, the R3 million deposit held in the trust account had accrued interest, and this was used to settle the entire cost of the estate development project with the construction company after the property was registered at the Pretoria Deeds Office and the title ownership was transferred to Pheto.
The actress’ undoing came on 6 November 2020 when President Cyril Ramaphosa signed Proclamation R32, “authorising the SIU to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration in the affairs of the NLC.”
Two years later, evidence gathered in the investigation was presented in court and on 4 November 2022, the Gauteng High Court granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFI) and the SIU a preservation order to freeze Pheto’s Bryanston house.
Following Pheto’s initial denial in a public statement released at the time, her legal team reached out to the SIU in January 2023 to confirm that they would not contest the preservation order.
Pheto, it was later revealed, was in cahoots with Lesley Ramulifho, Collin Tshisimba, Promise Kharivhe, Mashudu Shandukani, Thabang Mampane, Sthembiso Skosana, Botshelo Moloto and Rebotile Malomane, in plundering funds at the NLC to finance a sophisticated real estate scheme that saw the illicit group acquire nine luxury properties in Pretoria, Centurion, Hartbeespoort and Johannesburg, a BMW 420i and two Ocean Basket franchises on the East Rand, worth a combined value of approximately R25 million.
At this time, it remains unknown if Pheto will face any criminal charges for her involvement in the lucrative NLC fraud scheme.
The actress had not issued a statement when this article was published.
