‘No final order yet’: Lucky Montana hits back at SIU over R15.75m property freeze

Former Prasa CEO Luck Montana disputed the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) announcement, claiming that the unit has not obtained an order to freeze his assets. Former Group CEO of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), Lucky Montana, has denied that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has obtained an order to freeze his assets. This is after the SIU announced that it hassecured a preservation orderfrom the Special Tribunal freezing two luxury properties belonging to Montana, alleging they were acquired with proceeds linked to Prasa’s controversial R5.6 billion Integrated Security Access Management System (ISAMS) contracts awarded to Siyangena Technologies.

The order prevents Montana from selling, transferring, leasing or otherwise dealing with the properties pending the outcome of civil recovery proceedings. A R13.5 million property in Hurlingham, Johannesburg. According to the SIU, its investigation uncovered a direct money trail linking the purchase of the properties to payments from companies within the TMM Holdings group, including Siyangena Technologies, which was awarded the ISAMS contracts by Prasa.

The SIU found that Montana’s legitimate income could not account for the purchases. Instead, bank records allegedly show funds flowing through Precise Trade and Invest (Pty) Ltd, whose director was also the attorney representing the TMM group, before being used to acquire the properties.