Fierce legal fight over R3,667,434.74 Bentley tied to Free State asbestos case

A 2015 Bentley Continental GT valued at R3,667,434.74 is the subject of a heated legal dispute after it was seized under a court order linked to the Free State asbestos corruption case. The luxury car, once owned by businessman Sello Joseph Radebe accused number seven in the R255 million investigation is contested by a Sandton dealership and a financial institution in separate civil proceedings.

How the dispute unfolded

Wesbank financed the Bentley when Radebe bought it in August 2015 for R3,667,434.74. After Radebe defaulted on monthly instalments and arrears reached about R180,000 by March 2020, the outstanding debt under the instalment sale agreement was just over R2.48 million, according to court papers.

Grandeur Auto, a Sandton luxury and sports car dealership, says it bought the Bentley for R1.6 million after the repossession process. The dealership told the high court that the court order authorising repossession was obtained by Wesbank in May 2021.

Seizure linked to criminal proceedings

Radebe and 17 other individuals and companies, including former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and businessman Edwin Sodi, are charged in connection with contracts to replace asbestos roofs in houses across the Free State. One of Radebe’s companies, Mastertrade 232, is listed as accused number eight and is alleged to have received nearly R36.5 million of the proceeds of fraudulent criminal activity.

Following arrests, the National Prosecuting Authority obtained a Free State High Court order to secure and seize the Bentley and to appoint a curator bonis to preserve it pending the criminal trial and asset confiscation proceedings. In November 2024 the sheriff, acting on the curator bonis’ instructions and with the assistance of the Hawks and the SAPS, seized and attached the vehicle at Grandeur Auto’s address and handed it over to a legal and collection services company on Wesbank’s behalf.

Dealership challenges bank’s claim

Grandeur Auto argued in court that Wesbank was not the owner of the vehicle and that the dealership had acquired ownership and was therefore entitled to claim it from the bank. The dealership said the disposition of the vehicle by Wesbank was unlawful and described its case as based on both a rei vindicatio (restoration of property to the owner) and a claim of spoliation.

“In any event, the disposition of the vehicle by the respondent (Wesbank) was unlawful and even if the applicant (Grandeur Auto) was not the owner, which it is asserted that it is, it has been spoliated (wrongfully deprived of property) of the vehicle,” Grandeur Auto argued in court.

Judge dismisses dealership’s bid

Judge Mandlenkosi Motha dismissed Grandeur Auto’s application seeking the return of the Bentley. The judge found the absence of clear ownership to be fatal to the dealership’s claim for rei vindicatio.

“In my view, the application should be dismissed. Although Grandeur Auto is skating on thin ice, I am not inclined to mark my disapproval of the applicant’s conduct by imposing attorney and client costs,” the judge ruled on June 10.

Judge Motha also noted the contradictory arguments about ownership in court:

“Wesbank lost ownership through negligence, so the argument went. This submission was at odds with the junior counsel’s concession that ownership was contested. The absence of ownership is fatal to any application for rei vindicatio.”

Next steps

Grandeur Auto’s legal representatives, Larry Marks Attorneys, have filed an application for leave to appeal Judge Motha’s judgment.

The criminal trial involving Radebe and his co-accused is pending in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein, and the accused are currently out on bail.