Affidavit: About R121.5 million is allegedly linked to payments
associated with Emberton Limited. Photo: Supplied
Against a background of payments under scrutiny — amid claims that UK-based Emberton Limited was used to launder money by SA Steel Mills (SASM) and inflated invoices from India — the Mail & Guardian has learnt that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is close to deciding whether to charge the suspects linked to alleged fraudulent transactions.
The suspects have made warning statements to the SA Police Service but have declined to comment on the allegations. The M&G understands the probe includes Emberton, seen by authorities as a crucial link in entities involved in the external movement of public funds.
At the time of going to print, NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago was not available for comment.
Sources have said the South African Reserve Bank and the South African Revenue Service investigative units “take these allegations very serious and warrants a joint investigation into the conduct of these entities”.
The M&G has reported that affidavits seen by the newspaper point to concerns over due diligence processes and a flawed business case underpinning more than R1.2 billion in funding from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s Black Industrialist Scheme to SASM, a steel manufacturer in Meyerton, east of Johannesburg.
Revelations have also emerged about how the IDC funded SASM — an insolvent entity — using public funds. The IDC maintains that funding applications are assessed through “a comprehensive due diligence process”.
Lawyer Ian Small-Smith, representing complainants in the criminal complaint, declined to comment, saying law enforcement “must be left alone to do their work”.
Allegations of fraud and embezzlement are contained in affidavits deposed by feuding parties. About R121.5 million is allegedly linked to payments associated with Emberton Limited. The steel manufacturer has faced financial difficulty in recent years, leading to the sale of Pro Roof Industrial Park, which owns SA Steel Mills and the land on which its steel mill operates. Alfeco, led by Sachin Ahuja, acquired the business in April 2024 but later withdrew from the transaction.
The former SASM owners — Coin Wise Trading 42 (Pty) Ltd, Pro Roof Industrial Park (Pty) Ltd and the Pro RM Group — have denied claims of money laundering, dismissing them as “nothing new”.
In a response on behalf of Rafik Mohamed and the three entities, law firm Shaheed Dollie Incorporated said the allegations formed “part of the disputed factual narrative advanced by Alfeco and PRIP, including in support of their damages claim and counterclaim in the private arbitration proceedings”.
“Our clients deny in the strongest terms that SA Steel Mills, Mr Mohamed, Coin Wise, PRIP, the Pro RM Group or any person acting on their behalf, used Emberton or any related transaction, to launder money, inflate invoices, misappropriate funds or dishonestly extract value from SA Steel Mills or the IDC funding structure.”
The firm said: “The transaction and the entitlement of Alfeco to retain the PRIP shares were ventilated in private AFSA arbitration proceedings before Adv Azhar Bham SC.
“Those proceedings culminated in an award delivered on 12 December 2025. “We do not waive the confidentiality attached to the private arbitration proceedings.”
It said the Emberton issue “formed part of Alfeco’s broader attack on Mr Mohamed and the previous management of SASM”, though questions on Emberton were not answered and no transactional clarity was provided.
“That attack was advanced in circumstances where Alfeco had obtained access to the books and records of PRIP and SASM, had taken interim management, had pursued the retention of the PRIP shares and had advanced a damages counter claim in arbitration.
“Our clients deny that Mr Mohamed, Coin Wise, PRIP, the Pro RM Group or the previous management of SASM stole monies, misappropriated IDC funds, procured false accounting entries for personal benefit, laundered money, inflated invoices, dishonestly used Emberton or any other entity as a conduit, dishonestly misrepresented the financial position of SASM, PRIP or related entities or acted unlawfully in relation to the IDC funding arrangements.”
