R9.5m Ferrari linked to Hangwani Maumela could be sold after court ruling

An expensive Italian sports car, valued at nearly ten million South African rands, may be put up for sale after a court ruling involving a family trust connected to Hangwani Maumela. The Ferrari, specifically an SF90 Stradale, was frozen during an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into allegations of misappropriation of funds totaling R2 billion at Thembisa Hospital.

Acting judge SG Maritz dismissed the trust's urgent application in the Pretoria High Court, finding the trust to have provided contradictory accounts of ownership and no right to prevent the sale. The SIU emphasized the importance of protecting and recovering assets in corruption investigations through their Special Tribunal. The car, which is one of several luxury vehicles preserved under a Special Tribunal order, was initially registered to the trust and to the trust's founder, Hangwani Maumela, himself.

However, conflicting claims and various stakeholders, including Drive Time Auto CC, More Concerts (Pty) Ltd, and a third company, made the ownership status unclear. The curator, Jacobus Gideon Louw van Wyk, was authorized to sell the car for a minimum of R9.5 million, with insurance and storage costs totaling around R150,000 annually, with a further R408,000 needed to reinstate the warranty.

The sale took place on August 18, with Scuderia South Africa purchasing the car for R9.6 million, but the deal was put on hold after the trust lodged an appeal. The trust and Maumela subsequently sought a High Court ruling, which Maritz ultimately dismissed, stating that the appeal had little chance of success and that selling the car would not cause irreparable harm to the trust, as the money would remain in a trust account earning interest.